Far Too Strong: Tadej Pogacar Easily Overwhelms Competition in Tre Valli Varesine

There is currently no one who can match Tadej Pogacar. The world and European champion once again proved too strong for the competition on Tuesday at Tre Valli Varesine. Pogacar broke away from a breakaway group with about twenty kilometers to go and then seemingly cruised to yet another victory.

The Italian autumn always delivers a number of renowned fall classics. On the road to Saturday’s Giro di Lombardia, Tre Valli Varesine is one of them. After the Coppa Agostoni and Coppa Bernocchi, this race was the finale of the Trittico Lombardo on Tuesday. The riders who traveled to Varese (a city known for hosting the 2008 World Cycling Championships) faced a tough race, where the climbs followed each other in quick succession.

Before the start, almost all eyes were on the Slovenian prodigy, whose hunger after a new world title and first European title is still unsatisfied: Tadej Pogacar. With the in-form Jay Vine, Rafal Majka, and especially Isaac Del Toro, the nearly unbeatable Pogacar also had a very strong team behind him, but the competition—with riders like Primož Roglič, Egan Bernal, and Richard Carapaz—should not be underestimated.

Five riders formed the early breakaway
In the short loop towards the local circuit—with the Salita dei Ronchi (1.9 km at 5.3%) and Montello (also 1.9 km at 5.3%)—a breakaway group of five was formed. And these were no small names: Lorenzo Milesi (Movistar), Davide Ballerini (XDS Astana), Kevin Colleoni (Intermarché-Wanty), Andrew August (INEOS Grenadiers), and Mattia Bais (Team Polti-VisitMalta). The lead of this quintet grew to just over three minutes.

The five leaders didn’t get much room, all due to UAE Emirates XRG, which unsurprisingly controlled the front of the peloton. The team did not shy away from their favorite role, and as a result, the breakaway’s gap melted like snow in the sun. Even before the real finale, most of the escapees were caught, but for Egan Bernal, this was the perfect moment to reveal his cards early.

Bernal didn’t wait for Pogacar’s attack
The Colombian champion—who was fourth at last Saturday’s Giro dell’Emilia—was not planning to wait for a blistering attack from world champion Pogacar and decided to anticipate. The INEOS Grenadiers rider bridged decisively to the remaining breakaway rider Milesi, and together with the Italian, Bernal made a brave attempt to stay out of the peloton’s reach.

Two riders tried a counter-attack in hopes of joining the duo, but Michael Storer and the retiring Gianluca Brambilla were mostly involved in a futile chase. A subsequent acceleration by Quinn Simmons made a bigger difference, as the American champion managed to bridge to the lone Bernal. Simmons also caught Milesi on the way, who was still strong enough to latch on.

Del Toro and Pogacar counterattack
Meanwhile, the peloton led by UAE Emirates XRG was closing in fast on the three leaders, prompting Isaac Del Toro to get involved for the first time in the decisive moments. With a scorching acceleration on the slopes of the Montello climb, the Mexican shattered the race apart. Only two riders could follow Del Toro: Victor Lafay and—no surprise—Pogacar.

The three counter-attackers passed the earlier escapee Afonso Eulálio (the World Championship revelation from Rwanda) and quickly joined Bernal, Simmons, and Milesi. With these eight leaders, it seemed we were heading towards the final lap, but Pogacar had other plans. The big favorite launched an attack at a surprising moment; his breakaway companions were not immediately on his wheel, and the Slovenian eagle was off.

❤️‍🔥 Rehearsing for Lombardia: Pogacar attacks on the descent and goes solo.#TreValliVaresine pic.twitter.com/Xzdud0IV84

— Eurosport.es (@Eurosport_ES) October 7, 2025

Once again, no match for the world champion
The unleashed Pogacar quickly opened a huge gap: at the start of the final kilometer, his lead on the first chasers was already nearly a minute. Isaac Del Toro was still floating in this chasing group, but new names appeared at the front, including Toms Skujins, Primoz Roglic, Ben Tulett, Tom Pidcock, and Gianmarco Garofoli. However, among these top riders, the sacred fire to challenge Pogacar’s dominance was missing.

The Slovenian masterfully wore down his opponents and seemingly cruised to his nineteenth (!) victory of the season. The prodigy from Komenda had all the time in the world at the finish to celebrate his triumph. Afterwards, all eyes were on the sprint for the remaining podium places. Danish top talent Withen Albert Philipsen proved to have the fastest legs, securing a fine second place ahead of Julian Alaphilippe.

🚴🇮🇹 | Who else but Pogacar takes the win at #TreValliVaresine. Once again, the Slovenian arrives solo and remains undefeated so far in his new rainbow jersey. 🌈

📺 Stream the race on HBO Max pic.twitter.com/YSjpvr17MR

— Eurosport Nederland (@Eurosport_NL) October 7, 2025