Thibaut Pinot has won Il Lombardia
Frenchman Thibaut Pinot of Groupama – FDJ won the race of his dreams as he rode away from his last opponent, Bahrain – Merida’s Vincenzo Nibali, the defending champion, for a brilliant solo victory on the shores of Lake Como. Belgium’s Dylan Teuns of BCM Racing Team rounded out the podium of the 112th Il Lombardia NamedSport.
FINAL RESULT
1 – Thibaut Pinot (Groupama – FDJ) – 241km in 5h53’22” average 40.920km/h
2 – Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain – Merida) at 32″
3 – Dylan Teuns (BMC Racing Team) at 43″
STATISTICS
Thibaut Pinot delivered the 12th win for France at Il Lombardia, equalling Belgium’s tally. Italy is clear ahead with 69 victories. It’s the first French win since 1997 (Laurent Jalabert).
Thibaut Pinot is the first rider to double up Milano-Torino and Il Lombardia the same week since Michele Bartoli in 2002.
The average speed exceeds 40km/h (40.921km/h) for the first time since Philippe Gilbert’s victory in 2009 (41.541km/h). Dylan Teuns is the first Belgian to make the podium since then.
32 seconds is the biggest gap between the winner of Il Lombardia and the runner up since Andrea Tafi won by 2’19’’ over Fabian Jeker in 1996. Last year, Vincenzo Nibali won with a margin of 28 seconds over Julian Alaphilippe.
Thibaut Pinot scored the 33rd win of the season for the Groupama-FDJ team, equalling the record of the French squad in 2013.