News: Nibali wins Tour of Lombardy

Vincenzo Nibali wins Tour of Lombardy for the second time ahead of Julian Alaphilippe

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News: Nibali wins Tour of Lombardy

Vincenzo Nibali won Il Lombardia solo for the second time in his career after superb attack on the day’s penultimate climb. The Bahrain Merida rider attacked out of a select group with 17km to go, caught leader-on-the-road Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) and then dropped the Frenchman on the descent down the opposite side.

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Nibali pulled further clear on the day’s final climb and went on to win by 28 seconds from runner-up Julian Alaphilippe (Quick-Step Floors) and 38 seconds from third-placed Gianni Moscon (Team Sky).

Nibali said: “The team supported me greatly, giving me great conditions in which to conclude this season. Finally, I bagged a great victory, I couldn’t ask for more. It wasn’t easy to reproduce what I did two years ago. It was even more difficult this time around because everyone identified me as the favourite.

“To win a Monument is always a huge achievement. I wanted this race to cap off a season with a lot of good results. I’m delighted I managed to do it.”

Julian Alaphilippe, after opening Quick-Step Floors’ account in this season’s Monuments, with a solid and emphatic third place in Milano-Sanremo, and it was also him who wrapped it up, by taking a runner-up spot at the 111th edition of Il Lombardia.
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The Frenchman, making his penultimate outing of the season, rode intelligently and stayed attentive during the race, as the peloton got shattered to pieces on Muro di Sormano, the 1.9km climb averaging 15.8%, which was first used on the course more than half a century ago.

When Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) – who went on to take the win at the end of the day – attacked on Civiglio, the penultimate hill of the day, several riders tried to follow the Italian, but they burned their matches and succumbed on the flat section between that ascent and San Fermo della Battaglia. … continued after advert

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Julian bided his time and made a move on the final climb, dropping the other riders present in that first chasing group, before going full gas on the descent to Como, where Il Lombardia concluded after 247 gruelling kilometers and over six hours of racing, which featured 4000 meters of climbing.

“It’s incredible, I wasn’t expecting to be on the podium today. After the World Championships I kept my focus and arrived here very motivated. I did my best when Nibali attacked, but couldn’t follow him, so I decided to ride my own tempo and see how that goes”, said Julian Alaphilippe, who now boasts podiums at Milano-Sanremo, Liège–Bastogne–Liège and Il Lombardia. “I didn’t win, but I can’t say I am disappointed. To finish on the podium of a Monument is something special and it makes me happy to see my legs are so strong in the month of October.”

1. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Bahrain Merida, 6h15’29”
2. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Quick-Step Floors, +28″
3. Gianni Moscon (Ita) Team Sky, +38″
4. Alexis Vuillermoz (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale, same time
5. Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ, same time
6. Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale, same time
7. Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team, same time
8. Mikel Nieve (Esp) Team Sky, +40″
9. Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team, +42″
10. Sergei Chernetckii (Rus) Astana Pro Team, +47″

36. Dan Martin, Quickstep Floors
74. Adam Yates, Orica Scott

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