The Dutch cyclist Bauke Mollema has surprisingly won the 113th Lombardy Tour and celebrated the biggest success of his career. The 32-year-old from Team Trek-Segafredo was the first to cross the finish line 243 kilometers from Bergamo to Como. He is the first Dutchman since Hennie Kuiper in 1981 to win the prestigious one-day race.
"I can not believe I won one of the monuments," Mollema said. I was not the favorite, maybe the other drivers underestimated me a bit. I have chosen the right moment for my attack and have just given full throttle over the last ten kilometers. "
Bravo @BaukeMollema! #ILombardia pic.twitter.com/33yF42vQmX
- Il Lombardia (@Il_Lombardia) October 12, 2019Mollema had a 16-second lead over former World Champion Alejandro Valverde, who narrowly defeated Tour de France winner Egan Bernal in the sprint for second place. Top favorite and Vuelta winner Primoz Roglic of Team Jumbo-Visma had to settle for seventh place.
Cycling ♂️ - At age 39 years and 170 days, Alejandro Valverde is the 2nd-oldest rider to finish on the podium of a monument race, after Pino Cerami (41 years, 38 days) in the 1963 Liège - Bastogne - Liège , #ILombardia
- Gracenote Olympic (@GracenoteGold) October 12, 2019In the last big one-day race of the season, which, along with Milan Sanremo, the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix and Liège-Bastogne-Liège, belongs to the so-called five monuments, Emanuel Buchmann ranks eighth as best German. Thus, the third place of Fabian Wegmann in 2006 remains the best German placement in the "race of falling leaves".
Buchmann and Tim Wellens made it 32 kilometers from the finish line, with the duo about half a minute ahead of the pursuers. But 19 kilometers before the finish, the 26-year-old Ravensburger was overtaken, and the favorites to Roglic, Valverde and Bernal were reunited. The moment of the merger Mollema used the decisive attack on the penultimate increase.