Romain Bardet finishes 11th in Lombardia after impressive effort, Oscar Onley launches bold attack
Romain Bardet showed his strength and determination at the 117th edition of Il Lombardia, crossing the finish line in a strong 11th position after a great chase. The race took place in the picturesque Lombardy region of Italy and marked the end of Bardet’s 2023 season on a positive note.
The challenging parcours covered a distance of 238 kilometres and included a grueling 4646 elevation metres. The peloton set off from Como and immediately saw a flurry of attacks as riders vied to form the breakaway. A group of ten riders managed to establish a lead, while others attempted to bridge the gap. However, a crash involving Remco Evenepoel disrupted the chase, allowing six more riders to join the breakaway.
Despite the breakaway’s efforts, they were never given much leeway by the peloton and their advantage never exceeded four minutes. As the race approached the longest climb of the day, Passo della Crocetta, Team dsm-firmenich took control at the front, thanks to the work of Jonas Iversby Hvideberg and Chris Hamilton. The gap to the breakaway continued to shrink, eventually falling to less than two minutes.
It was at this point that Oscar Onley made a move, launching a solo attack from the peloton and joined by Ben Healy. While Onley managed to reach the front of the race, he lost contact with Healy near the top of Passo della Crocetta. Despite this setback, Onley continued at his own pace.
After a thrilling descent, a reduced peloton, featuring a determined Romain Bardet, tackled the final climb of the day, Passo di Ganda. Attacks immediately ensued, and a strong group managed to break away, with Bardet in pursuit not far behind. As the race descended the final climb, Bardet joined a solid group and embarked on a remarkable chase for the last thirty kilometers.
Although Bardet couldn’t make direct contact with the leaders, his group gradually closed the gap. Pushing all the way to the finish line, Bardet finished just outside the top ten, bringing a positive end to his 2023 season with Team dsm-firmenich.
