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Esteban Chaves triumphs in 2016 Il Lombardia

Chaves and Uran top off a fine week in Italy

Esteban Chaves
Esteban Chaves’s star keeps rising, as the Vuelta a España podium man and Giro d’Italia runner-up added his first career Monument victory to a sterling 2016 palmares. The Orica-BikeExchange ace become the first Colombian to win Il Lombardia and, in doing so, the first to win a Monument. Chaves outsprinted a hard-working Diego Rosa (Italy/Astana) and strong compatriot Rigoberto Uran (Cannondale) in Bergamo after sparking the decisive move. It was Ryder Hesjedal’s final professional race.


The riders had eight climbs over 240-km to negotiate, with a steep little bump leading to the Bergamo citadel coming 3-km from the finish line.


The pace was very high leaving Como and heading north to the vaunted Madonna del Ghisallo climb, home of a cycling shrine and museum. Nobody could nose off the front until the Ghisallo where a quartet shook loose.

A maximum of 6:00 was the break’s reward as it lipped over the Colle Brianza intact. On the Valcava, around the race’s mid-point, the break split, with BMC’s Damiano Caruso and Cofidis’s Rudy Molard remaining in front.


On the new Sant’Antonio Abbandonato climb, 6.5-km of 8.9%, Caruso and Molard had a chase trying to bridge over, sweeping up their old breakmates. First Molard went ahead, and then Caruso was solo with 62-km and three climbs remaining. The peloton, with Orica-BikeExchange on the front, had been whittled down to 45-riders and was 3:00 behind Caruso.


Near the Sant’Antonio’s crest, there was a flurry of attacks in the favourites group. Giovani Visconti started things off for Movistar, drawing teammates Alejandro Valverde and Winner Anacona. Chaves and Romain Bardet also took digs, as did Robert Gesink.

Chaves, Bardet and Gesink were now in a chase group of 12 that summited and plummeted a minute ahead of the peloton.

Next up was another new ascent, the Miragolo San Salvatore, 8.7-km of 7%. It was here that of the new chasers, Pierre Latour (France/AG2R), attacked, bringing recent Vuelta a España stage winner David De La Cruz (Spain/Etixx-QuickStep) with him to tag onto Molard.

However, on the long slog up Miragolo San Salvatore, the front of the race coalesced, with Caruso now part of a 16-rider armada including Latour, Molard, De La Cruz, Uran and Davide Villela (Cannondale-Drapac), Chaves, Valverde, Gesink, Bardet, Visconti, Fabio Aru, Rosa and Warren Barguil (France/Giant-Alpecin).

The next selection would occur on the Selvino, a 6.9-km climb of 5.4% starting with 35-km to go. Chaves gassed it to surge away, and Uran and Bardet joined him. The trio gradually pulled out a gap. Rosa turned himself inside out to bring Aru up to the three leaders. Then Rosa left Aru behind and lit out to bridge on his own, making the junction with 29-km remaining.

By the time the quartet crested Selvino, its lead was 40-seconds. The only climb left was the 1.2-km climb of 7.9% to Bergamo Alta. But the wet descent of the Selvino was treacherous. Everyone made it down safely before the crucial 13-km of flat leading to the partially cobbled Bergamo bump. The chase edged closer but then lost its momentum.


The winner would come from the intrepid foursome. Rosa skipped away as the climb to the citadel started. Chaves brought him back on the cobbles and then rushed away, with only Uran able to match him. Bardet was out of it, but Rosa thrashed himself to latch on. The Italian made it back on the descent and then attacked with 1.5-km to go.

Chaves followed Uran back to Rosa inside 500-km but the Cannondale man couldn’t pull through. Chaves accelerated and blasted past the Italian just before the line.


It was a good week for the Colombians in Italy, as Chaves took top honours at last Saturday’s Giro dell’Emilia, beating Bardet and Uran. Uran was then third in Milano-Torino, where Canadian Michael Woods was runner-up to Angel Lopez (Colombia/Astana). Saturday was also Uran’s third third place in Il Lombardia, his podiums coming every fourth year (’08, ’12, ’16).

Woods was 31st.

2016 Il Lombardia
1) Esteban Chaves (Colombia/Orica-BikeExchange) 6:26:36
2) Diego Rosa (Italy/Astana) s.t.
3) Rigoberto Uran (Colombia/Cannondale-Drapac) s.t.
31) Michael Woods (Canada/Cannondale-Drapac +8:10

Highlights