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Pogacar targets more history at season-ending Il Lombardia | The Express Tribune
MILAN:
Tadej Pogacar is red-hot favourite to match a feat only ever achieved by cycling icon Eddy Merckx as the Slovenian superstar bids to win the Tour of Lombardy for the fifth consecutive year.
No-one but Merckx has ever won three Monument races in the same season but world champion Pogacar is on course to cap another remarkable year by equalling that record at the “Race of the Falling Leaves” on Saturday.
In April, the Team UAE rider won both the Tour of Flanders and Liege-Bastogne-Liege having also finished second at Paris-Roubaix, while a month earlier he was third at Milan-San Remo, meaning he has finished on the podium of all four Monument races so far this season.
Merckx managed a trio of Monument victories four times in his career and has a record 19 wins in the prestigious one-day classics.
Cycling’s Monuments are tougher than the regular one-day classics mainly due to their length, and the route for the 2025 Giro di Lombardia is a hefty 238km from Como to Bergamo.
Pogacar will face formidable opposition with double-Olympic champion Remco Evenepoel in his last race for one-day specialists Soudal-Quick Step before joining Red Bull.
“If anyone can tell me how to beat Tadej please do,” Evenepoel joked last week after coming second at the World and European championships to Pogacar.
At just 19, French tyro Paul Seixas will be one to watch after his third place at the recent European road race.
Mavericks Tom Pidcock and Julian Alaphilippe can be counted on to bid to try and upset the order, while Ireland’s Ben Healy should feature in any shake-up.
‘Best season’
But 27-year-old Pogacar is on-form, recently retaining the world crown and adding the European road race title to his long list of honours, which includes four Tour de France triumphs.
“Every year I say to myself it’s my best season so far, but then next year comes and it’s a better season. But soon enough, there will be a moment where I won’t be able to top it off,” Pogacar said after claiming the European crown.
“I’m over the moon with every season I’ve done, and this year is no exception. I realise that I’m lucky to be able to win all these races.”
Pogacar is used to breaking records — this year he became the first man to win both the Tour and world championship two seasons in a row — and he also has another of the sport’s greats in his sights.
Only Fausto Coppi has won the season-ending Il Lombardia five times, and no-one has ever strung together five consecutive victories, with the Italian great winning four on the bounce between 1946 and 1949.
The race has been Pogacar’s personal playground since he first won it in 2021, the route so often perfect for a rider who loves to attack early and burn off the competition.
The last time it finished in Bergamo, two years ago, Pogacar made his move on the decisive Passo di Ganda climb that is also on this year’s gruelling route, which features a series of steep climbs.
Israel-Premier Tech and race organisers came to a mutual agreement that the team would not take part, after having been targeted by pro-Palestinian protesters at several recent races.
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Legendary England batter Geoffrey Boycott on Monday advised the Ben Stokes-led side to adopt a more strategic and thoughtful approach ahead of the second Ashes Test against Australia, scheduled for Thursday in Brisbane.
England suffered an agonising eight-wicket defeat in the series opener in Perth, which lasted less than two days, the first of which was dominated by the touring side as they had reduced the hosts to 123/9 after accumulating 172 all out.
The visitors now face another gruelling challenge in the blockbuster series as they take on the Baggy Greens in a pink-ball Test, in which the hosts boast a dominant record, having lost just one out of their previous 14 appearances, but Boycott, who has won Ashes both in England and Australia, believes that the Three Lions can win the upcoming game by adopting a calculated strategy.
He, however, warned England batters of self-destruction, advising them to “use their brains” and decide whether to attack or hold back after analysing the situation.
“But it doesn’t help our chances of success if Ben Stokes keeps encouraging our batsmen to attack, attack with one finger hovering over the self-destruct button,” Boycott wrote in his Daily Telegraph column.
“Nobody is asking the players to stop being positive because they have given us some marvellous, thrilling and entertaining cricket. All we ask is for them to use their brains and realise there are times when they should throttle back and be aware of situations and bat accordingly,” he added.
Boycott, who represented England in 108 Tests and 36 ODIs, also slammed Stokes for his comments in which he referred to former cricketers as “has-beens” but expressed satisfaction over the all-rounder’s partial apology.
“To call past players ‘has-beens’ was disrespectful, especially as some of those ‘has-beens’ played in teams that won the Ashes in England and Australia,” Boycott wrote.
“I am glad Ben has half apologised, saying it was a slip of the tongue, because none of this team has won the Ashes in Australia. Get the job done, because then you don’t need to say anything and you can bask in all the glory coming your way.”
The Copa Libertadores trophy won by Flamengo on Saturday was damaged during the team’s title celebrations.
Flamengo beat Palmeiras 1-0 in the final in Lima, Peru, to become the first Brazilian club to lift the prestigious cup four times.
Flamengo players and staff had a victory parade on the streets of Rio de Janeiro on Sunday afternoon, with an estimated 500,000 people joining in the celebrations.
Players and staff took turns to lift the cup during the parade and images showed that the top part of the trophy, which consists of a figurine of a footballer ready to kick a ball, was wrapped in what appeared to be masking tape.
– Flamengo lift Copa Libertadores, but Brazil’s players look exhausted
The figurine had earlier been broken.
Flamengo will be hoping to wrap up the Brazilian league title on Wednesday when they take on Ceara in front of their own fans in Rio’s Maracana stadium.
They are five points clear of Palmeiras at the top of the standings with two games remaining.
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