Slovenia’s Tadej Pogacar won the Tour of Lombardy for a second time as Vincenzo Nibali and Alejandro Valverde bowed out of professional racing.
The UAE Team Emirates rider out-sprinted Movistar’s Enric Mas after a gruelling 253km race, with Bahrain Victorious’s Mikel Landa claiming third, his first podium in a Monument – the big five one-day races.
Valverde, 42, rolled back the years to finish in sixth place but Nibali, 37, could not muster a final fight as he was dropped with 20km to go.
Italian Nibali, racing for Astana, retires with four Grand Tour titles – the Tour de France (2014), Vuelta a Espana (2010) and Giro d’Italia (2013 and 2016).
Movistar’s Valverde is more of a one-day specialist, although he did win the Vuelta in 2009. The Spaniard became road world champion in 2018 and won Liege-Bastogne-Liege four times, and the preceding classic La Fleche Wallonne on five occasions.