UAE Team Emirates have announced Tadej Pogačar's support squad for this Saturday's Il Lombardia as he eyes a fourth title in a row at the Monument, something only the great Fausto Coppi managed to achieve.
In his final race of the season, Pogačar will be joined on the start line in Bergamo by the in-form Marc Hirschi, Jan Christen, Finn Fisher Black, Pavel Sivakov and former Lombardia podium finishers Adam Yates and Rafał Majka.
After winning the world championships road race in stunning fashion with a 100km attack and 50km solo ride, Pogačar debuted his rainbow jersey at the Giro dell'Emilia where he dominated similarly and stormed away from his rivals 37km from the line to victory.
"The first race in the rainbow colours was something special. The Giro dell’Emilia was always a race that got away from me but I was delighted to be able to take the win there finally last weekend," said Pogača.
"The shape is still very good and I want to give it one last push now for Lombardía."
Winning Il Lombardia for the fourth time in a row would cap off the best season of his already illustrious career, adding to one-day victories at Strade Bianche, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, GP Montréal, Worlds and Emilia, alongside his Grand Tour triumphs at the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France.
"It’s been the perfect season for us this year. All the team worked really hard and things really clicked for us," he said.
"I’ll definitely look back on this year as a really special time. But it’s not over yet and we want to finish it off well and with a strong result in my last race of the season in Lombardia."
Having won the last three Races of the Falling Leaves, newly crowned world champion Pogačar will enter as the heavy favourite against the likes of Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) and Enric Mas (Movistar).
Pogačar's final appearance before Lombardia was due to be at yesterday's Tre Valli Varesine until heavy rain and flooding led organisers to cancel the event. The 252km Il Lombardia route from Bergamo to Como will take in the final appearance of his historic 2024 season.
He already has the most wins of any rider this season with 24, and a seventh Monument triumph at the weekend would put him on seven at cycling's five most prestigious one-day races, equalling the tally of established icons Gino Bartali, Tom Boonen and Fabian Cancellara.
