Despite finishing last year’s Il Lombardia with an excellent 2nd place, the image most people still associate with Remco Evenepoel at the “Classic of the Falling Leaves” is a far uglier one dating back to 2020, as he flew off a ravine, leaving the race with a fractured pelvis and a bruised lung. Until he manages to finally make the season’s last Monument his own, chances are he will struggle to change that collective memory.
That crash remains an indelible scar in the career of the Belgian, who was just 20 years old when he went over the bridge five years ago. Even back then, he was the hot favorite, with 14 pro wins to his name and looking nearly untouchable. After his fall on the descent of the Colma di Sormano, he spent nine months on the sidelines – and in that time, the era of Tadej Pogačar began.
Even in the middle of the Slovenian’s show, the Soudal–QuickStep athlete – who will ride from Como to Bergamo in his last race with the Wolfpack before moving to Red Bull–Bora-hansgrohe – has managed to carve out his own space, becoming by far the best time trialist in the world (triple world champion and Olympic gold medalist in Paris 2024), while also winning a Vuelta a España, both world and Olympic road titles, and two Liège–Bastogne–Liège. But in head-to-head battles with Pogačar, he has often come off second best, at the Tour de France as well as in the great classics.
The latest example came at the World Championships in Kigali, Rwanda, where Pogačar put on another of his trademark solo shows and Evenepoel had to settle for 2nd. According to Remco, though, the race was heavily influenced by a bike issue, specifically with his saddle, at the decisive moment, forcing him to stop twice and making the chase on Pogačar impossible. “Without the saddle problems, I think I could have stayed with Tadej, and maybe the outcome of the race would have been different,” he said afterwards.
Those comments only add to the anticipation for Il Lombardia on Saturday, 11 October. If everything goes as expected, the two will face each other on equal terms, and Remco will have the chance not only to take his revenge on Tadej, but also to finally make peace with this competition – a race still waiting since 2020 for the Belgian’s great redemption.
