Tadej Pogačar makes history with his fifth successive Il Lombardia victory

With another peerless display in the world champion’s rainbow bands, Tadej Pogačar won Il Lombardia on Saturday afternoon for UAE Team Emirates-XRG. It is another victory in a remarkable season for both Pogačar and the Emirati squad, with the Slovenian adding to his titles at the Tour of Flanders and Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

Making Il Lombardia his third win in a Monument Classic this season, Pogačar becomes only the second rider in history to win three Monuments in the same calendar year, following in the wheel tracks of Eddy Merckx. It is not the only slice of history that Pogačar takes with his latest win in Bergamo.

Between his wins in Flanders, Liège and Lombardia, his third-place finish at Milano-Sanremo in March, and his runner-up spot at Paris-Roubaix in April, the reigning two-time world champion becomes the first rider in history to finish on the podium of all five Monuments in the same season.

Making his winning attack with 34km to go on Saturday, the 27-year-old roared up the final climb into the Città Alta, before descending into the city to take his fifth successive win at the Race of the Falling Leaves.

In doing so, he draws level with the great Fausto Coppi on five wins at Il Lombardia, with the pair sitting at the top of the all-time winners’ pile.

Winning every edition since 2021, however, Pogačar has gone one clear of Coppi’s feats from the 1940s, becoming the first rider in history to win five instalments of the ‘Giro di Lombardia’ on the bounce.

Speaking after the finish, the world champion reflected on an incredible season that has seen him retain his Tour de France title, win the European Championship for the first time, and bring up 100 career victories as a professional.

Pogačar: “To win five times in a row, every time I have started, it feels that this course and this race are really suited for me. Also, at the same time, I have such a good team around me that we can pull it off. Big thanks to all my teammates!

“Domen did a fantastic job, then Pavel was also really impressive today, then all the guys leading out on the final climb and protecting me from behind was top-class work and just impressive stuff from my teammates.

“I always say, seven years in a row, this is my best season so far. And again, I can say that this is the best season so far.”

Pogačar’s latest win takes UAE Team Emirates-XRG’s season win tally to 93, with the Emirati squad continuing to build on the previous all-time season record of 85 set by Team Columbia-HTC in 2009.

Under the autumn sun of Lombardy, Pogačar’s teammate Isaac del Toro produced his own brilliant display to take fifth place across the line, with Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) finishing as the runner-up. Rafał Majka, meanwhile, brought the curtain down on his 15-year professional career.

The Polish national champion has spent his last five seasons with UAE Team Emirates-XRG, and in that time has helped Pogačar to win both the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France. With a palmarès that also includes three stages of the Tour de France, two wins in the King of the Mountains classification at the Tour, and two stages of the Vuelta a España, the 36-year-old has enjoyed a marvellous career as both a leader and teammate.

It has been in his final years with the Emirati squad that the Pole has become instrumental in helping the team to three successive years as the UCI No.1-ranked WorldTeam. Known as a mentor to his younger teammates, a loyal helper when called upon, and a rider who can still climb with the best on the hardest terrain, Majka has been an exceptional member of the UAE Team Emirates-XRG squad to the last.

Bringing an end to his career with another fine display in aid of Pogačar on Saturday, the two-time Polish national champion leaves with the best wishes and thanks of everybody at UAE Team Emirates-XRG, both riders and staff alike.

Pogačar’s victory was built on the hard work of his teammates, who made Saturday’s race hard from afar. Earlier in the day, a 12-rider breakaway went clear of the peloton, containing the likes of Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek) and Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious), but the Emirati squad always kept their advantage within reach.

Domen Novak, Rafał Majka and Pavel Sivakov kept the pace well and truly on throughout the day, and on the penultimate climb of the day, UAE Team Emirates-XRG unleashed Pogačar.

Only Simmons had remained out front from the breakaway, but he was soon caught and passed by the Slovenian. As Pogačar began his solo march from 34km to go, his teammates Isaac del Toro, Jay Vine and Adam Yates marked the moves behind.

With their help, no successful chase was ever going to coalesce, and most of the top 20 came up the Colle Aperto in Bergamo on their hands and knees. Del Toro, to his credit, dug deep and claimed fifth place on his debut outing at Il Lombardia. Vine finished in ninth, with Yates not far behind in 11th.

Il Lombardia 2025 results:

1. Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) 5:45:53

2. Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) +1:48

3. Michael Storer (Tudor Pro Cycling) +3:14

5. Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +4:16

9. Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +4:18

11. Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +4:49