Remco Evenepoel celebrates Il Lombardia second place four years after horror crash - 'Feels like a personal victory'

Remco Evenepoel was a worthy runner-up at Il Lombardia, unable to keep up with rampaging winner Tadej Pogacar but still able to celebrate a personal redemption at the final Monument of the year.

Pogacar launched his race-winning attack 48km to go on the famous Sormano climb, soloing away from a reduced peloton, while Evenepoel marshalled a small group of chasers behind him.

The Belgian soon managed to drop companions Enric Mas and Lennert van Eetvelt and time-trialled his way to the finish in Como, where he described his second place as a "personal victory" after a horrifying crash at the race in 2020.

Four years on, a visibly emotional and exhausted Evenepoel crossed the line 3'16'' down on Pogacar, acknowledging the crowd in the finishing straight, before hugging his wife at the finish line and covering his face with his hands.

"Honestly it feels a bit like a personal victory," he said at the finish. "I think everyone knows how it ended the last time I raced from Bergamo to Como. Now finishing as best of the rest feels like a personal victory. It makes me really proud, I'm not going to say emotional, because I'm quite over the moment of four years ago, but I need to be honest. It feels really good to be second today."

In the 2020 edition, a then 20-year-old Evenepoel had been among the favourites for the race after a brilliant season, and was in the leading group when he crashed on the descent of the Colma di Sormano. He went over a bridge barrier into a ravine, sparking concern as he fell a significant distance, and suffered a fractured pelvis and lung contusion, abandoning the race and spending a night in hospital.

The Belgian returned in the 2021 and 2023 editions, placing ninth and 19th, but both routes ran in the opposite direction and avoided the Sormano descent, travelling from Como to Bergamo.

"We kind of knew and predicted how and where Tadej would go, we knew the three kilometres after the bridge where I crashed four years ago were the hardest of the climb and that's also where he went," Evenepoel said of the chase. "I just did my own pace to the top to try and take some advantage on the others and to try to limit the time loss towards Tadej, and I knew the descent pretty well, so I just went flat out on the descent and I dropped the others. And then it was like a time trial to the finish line. I was actually dying on San Fermo [della Battaglia, the final climb] in the last few kilometres."

The Soudal Quick-Step rider, who is the world time trial champion as well as double Olympic champion this year, conceded that trying to take on Pogacar in this form was something of a fool's errand, adding: "But the gap was made by then, it was a bit of 1v1 and I think everybody saw who is the best rider of the moment and the deserved winner of today."

Nevertheless, this was almost as good as a win for Evenepoel, who had time to slow down in the finale and never looked in danger of being caught by the remaining riders fighting for third place.

"Let's say [it's] one of my first good results in Italy," he said. "It feels good to do the race without any problems, without any bad luck and just with a good feeling.

"I'm just a bit unlucky that there's a great phenomenon ahead of me, but this gives some confidence and good morale to try and come here with a better shape and try to go for the win. So it's a perfect way to end my season, and now I'll just try to enjoy it." 

Third-placed Giulio Ciccone, who was a highly popular podium finisher in front of a packed home crowd, echoed the sentiment.

"It's always my dream [to win Il Lombardia]," he said. "It's one of my favourite races, so a podium behind this guy [Pogacar] is already a good victory."