Tadej Pogacar 'extra motivated' to do 'super well' at Il Lombardia after easing to 19th season win at Tre Valli Varesine

World and European champion Tadej Pogacar revealed he is "extra motivated" to claim glory at Il Lombardia. The Slovenian four-time Tour de France winner was talking in the wake of soloing to his 19th victory of the season at Tre Valli Varesine. He is now focused on registering a fifth title in succession at Il Lombardia, the season’s final Monument.

Pogacar 'already feels old' next to Philipsen on Tre Valli podium

Video credit: TNT Sports

World and European champion Tadej Pogacar revealed he is "extra motivated" to claim glory at Il Lombardia.

After soloing to his 19th victory of the season at Tre Valli Varesine, Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) admitted that his focus was on registering a fifth title at Il Lombardia, the season’s final Monument.

The Slovenian said: "Obviously it's a long season now but Lombardia is this big goal and there is extra motivation to do it super well.

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"Also, it's a Monument and one of the biggest races in the calendar of one-day races, so the legs should be good for Saturday."

On Tuesday, four-time Tour de France winner Pogacar attacked 22km from the Tre Valli Varesine finish line, quickly building a minute gap over the peloton, before breezing to record yet another season win.

Following in his wake was Albert Withen Philipsen (Lidl-Trek) and Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor Pro Cycling) in third.

Highlights: Pogacar claims 19th win of season with trademark attack

Video credit: TNT Sports

"The plan was to wait until the final lap to ride at a good pace," Pogacar explained. "Tudor decided to go super deep, super early and they opened the race from far. Then Del Toro and I went on the attack on one of the climbs and yeah, it happened.

"It was a really good situation. We were in the front group. We knew that nobody would work with us too much, so when I saw that I had a gap on the downhill, I pushed after the roundabout on the flat and I knew that even if I kill myself, then there's still Isaac [del Toro] in the back that can win the race in the small group or even solo."

On the 19-year-old Philipsen, Pogacar added: "I told Alaphilippe on the podium I already feel old next to him [Albert Philipsen], how should Alaphilippe feel next to us?

"We're getting old now and the new generation is coming. Paul Seixas was brilliant all season and Albert Philipsen also; he's a brilliant rider, an amazing rider, so we have such good talent for the next few years. The cycling will keep going.

"I guess it's extra motivation to have new competition coming and they for sure will push me in some more races in the future."

How to watch Il Lombardia 2025

The race will take place on Saturday, October 11, 2025.

Coverage will begin at 09:30 BST live on TNT Sports 4 and discovery+.

TNT Sports is available across all major TV platforms, offering a line-up of up to four TV channels (TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports 2, TNT Sports 3, TNT Sports 4), and up to six digital or red-button channels (TNT Sports 5 to 10), and TNT Sports Ultimate plus TNT Sports Box Office HD.

You can subscribe to TNT Sports through discovery+, BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media.

What is the route for Il Lombardia 2025?

The race will begin in Como, stretching 241km and taking in a total of 4,400 metres of climbing.

These include Madonna del Ghisallo, Roncola, Berbenno, Zambla Alta and Passo di Ganda ahead of Colle Aperto just before the finish in Bergamo.

Il Lombardia route 2025

Image credit: From Official Website

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