It’s time for the last PT race – what I am saying, for the last Monument! – of the 2022 season, and oh boy the stakes are high. Though, as you might have see in the last rankings Isostar seems to have the title well in hand, there are plenty of positions to win or defend for the PT peloton. But before we talk about the teams here, let’s talk about the race itself!
The race has been on the calendar since 2007, and though it has seen multiple winners in the 2000’s and 2010’s, the three last editions have had new winners:
The three last winners
2021
Simon Yates
Zwift Pro Cycling
2020
Miguel Angel Lopez
Evonik – ELKO
2019
Edvald Boasson Hagen
Air France – KLM
The route has been change though. Instead of finishing in Bergamo, we’ll begin the race here, for a grand finale in Como, some 247 km of intense and hard riding later. As the finish is flat and comes after a long descent, the best punchers will have to make the difference in the 2 last hills.
Now let’s have a look on who the teams sent here for an epic battle, and what they are fighting for!
The teams
Aegon-Peroni
FL
MT
HI
ST
RS
SP
AC
FT
DH
De Bie
73
71
84
77
76
72
75
74
65
Bovenhuis
73
58
71
74
70
62
68
79
65
Vansevenant
72
70
75
76
75
69
76
75
69
Kooistra
72
59
64
70
67
73
72
61
62
Goos
71
77
74
78
75
67
73
70
68
Denz
71
74
76
70
70
63
73
71
65
De Kleijn
70
61
75
71
71
74
75
64
64
Barbin
69
68
78
75
73
71
76
65
67
Before this race, Aegon-Peroni stands in 19th position, so very much in the relegation zone. But, with only 48 points separating them from Huski in 17th, all hope is not lost – though of course, they’ll have to do better tan Duolingo also.
Showing that he still has the legs with his win in Montréal, De Bie is obviously the main asset of his team. With Goos, Denz or Barbin, he’s got some quality helpers.
Aker-MOT
FL
MT
HI
ST
RS
SP
AC
FT
DH
Hansen
77
59
65
74
73
73
80
72
67
Eaton
75
62
69
74
76
62
68
70
66
Vangstad
74
72
70
74
75
65
68
74
74
Mohoric
72
71
83
78
72
67
77
71
79
Bravo
70
70
76
74
73
65
70
71
71
Dujardin
69
62
67
70
74
69
74
67
73
Preidler
68
80
78
71
77
50
69
73
81
Van Poucke
68
75
75
68
71
67
73
74
67
In theory, Aker might still hope to go on the podium instead of Puma-SAP; and they could also be passed by Tinkoff for 4th. They are trailing the German by 261 points though, and they advantage on the Russians being 257 points, they seem at ease, ranking wise. They brought here Mohoric and Preidler, who could both be in contention for a good result.
cycleYorkshire
FL
MT
HI
ST
RS
SP
AC
FT
DH
Kennaugh
74
77
70
71
70
66
63
72
59
Suter
74
63
69
72
71
66
70
71
70
Carthy
71
81
75
77
76
60
69
65
65
O'Loughlin
71
65
67
68
72
63
64
68
65
Holmes
70
72
75
71
73
67
71
71
68
Romo
69
70
75
73
74
65
66
74
61
Williams
68
78
74
72
76
65
74
75
72
Skaarseth
67
75
72
70
71
61
67
58
69
cycleYorkshire doesn’t have much to play. The best they can really do is defend their top 15 position, though it’s not sure that Hugh Carthy is the best placed for that. He’s a good climber, one of the best of the startlist, but his team will have to make the race very difficult to be able to drop the pure punchers. And in any case, even among the climber, the competition sure is strong.
De Stijl Cycling
FL
MT
HI
ST
RS
SP
AC
FT
DH
Meintjes
71
80
78
77
76
61
69
71
74
Cort Nielsen
72
78
74
76
75
54
71
65
64
Cras
67
76
71
76
76
60
67
61
67
Misbah
67
75
69
74
72
62
68
70
70
Elosegui
64
75
70
75
78
60
70
65
66
Knox
70
73
72
74
76
63
67
65
61
Cataford
74
72
70
75
75
60
69
67
71
Soulious
69
72
74
74
73
71
77
62
74
Same story for De Stijl, whose top 15 is more in danger though, as they only have a 28 points advantage on Moser-Sygic. They place in the ProTour doesn’t seem too much at risk, though. They brought in a climbing team, lead by Meintjes. His main Lieutenant will be Cort Nielsen.
Despite a lack of acceleration capabilities, Meintjes could fare reasonably well in a small group in Como.
Duolingo
FL
MT
HI
ST
RS
SP
AC
FT
DH
Eastman
70
82
71
76
75
62
69
73
66
Almeida
69
78
70
75
77
63
71
67
71
Rachid
70
75
70
73
73
62
68
69
66
Goh
69
74
76
74
74
62
68
79
65
Bobridge
72
68
82
73
73
68
79
65
65
Yates
70
64
76
75
73
62
68
72
69
Kulikovskiy
70
64
70
67
72
74
75
65
67
Scott
70
63
66
70
70
76
76
60
64
Back to the fight for safety! Duolingo is the first team in the relegation zone, but they’re only 17 – yes, 17 points – behind Huski. And 31 points ahead of Aegon. So yes, this will be a very nice race in the race to follos.
Duolingo did sense the importance of the moment, as they come in Italy with two leaders: Eastman for the hard climbing, and Bobridge for the devastating attacks. The question as always is whether the two leaders will manage to work together. They have to, if they want their team to survive.
EA Vesuvio
FL
MT
HI
ST
RS
SP
AC
FT
DH
Godoy
68
81
76
75
76
59
75
71
68
Kirsch
70
79
74
75
73
68
67
62
62
Girdlestone
71
77
72
77
73
61
68
68
65
Valter
72
75
78
75
74
69
76
71
70
Johannessen
68
73
70
67
75
67
74
73
78
Geniets
74
69
76
74
76
62
68
74
69
Bax
71
68
77
77
73
65
68
74
73
Ulissi
74
64
78
80
68
72
72
73
61
With what the rankings look like now, EA is one of those teams who could finish either 10th or 6th – and even 5th or 11th could be possible.
Godoy will lead a quite strong team here. The Brasilian sure has all the qualities to Il Lombardia and to make the race interesting.
ELCO - ABEA
FL
MT
HI
ST
RS
SP
AC
FT
DH
Mavrikakis
70
79
72
74
73
61
67
63
64
Spanopoulos
69
77
75
73
72
60
64
66
62
Kastrantas
73
73
75
70
71
62
73
75
78
Lafay
66
73
75
72
71
63
72
76
67
Nsengimana
65
72
71
71
70
66
72
74
66
Koretzky
73
71
81
77
70
71
79
73
70
Vila
70
69
75
70
72
67
72
74
69
Kelly
72
66
72
68
72
70
71
72
62
Same story for the Greeks of ELCO, though as they’re for now 6th, they have the most to lose. It certainly is a good moment for their French Puncher Koretzky to come up with a good result – imitating his compatriot and teammate Coquard.
Evonik - ELKO
FL
MT
HI
ST
RS
SP
AC
FT
DH
Lopez
70
79
84
76
74
66
78
80
71
Blums
72
77
77
71
73
64
70
73
78
Sergis
68
75
76
69
73
58
70
76
66
Lehtinen
67
75
73
72
69
65
67
67
70
Polanc
72
74
73
78
73
67
75
67
71
Hänninen
69
69
71
69
71
63
70
69
67
Ansons
71
66
68
69
69
69
71
68
67
Thijssen
73
61
62
72
69
77
79
65
64
Miguel Angel Lopez is back! The Colombian won the race in 2020 and grabbing another monument will be the main goal of the team, who doesn’t have much more to play this season. He should have the teammates able to control the race and to protect him as long as necessary to counter his opponents attacks.
Gazelle
FL
MT
HI
ST
RS
SP
AC
FT
DH
Sosnitskiy
70
78
72
73
77
63
73
66
77
Karnulin
69
78
74
76
75
60
70
54
73
Bernard
72
76
75
72
73
69
73
75
67
Konrad
72
75
76
76
73
62
69
69
58
Peters
73
74
76
72
76
65
69
73
69
Malecki
73
73
76
71
75
71
76
70
72
Tratnik
71
73
77
74
75
61
70
71
65
Lutsenko
69
73
83
76
73
72
81
69
70
Currently 10th in the rankings, Gazelle is one of those teams who could finish 6th – or drop to 11th. They come in Lombary with Lutsenko as a leader, who missed by not that much the victory in 2019. A harder race could be difficult for him to survive, but he has quality helpers to help on the way. In a small group, he has all the qualities to have a great result.
Gjensidige Pro Cycling Team
FL
MT
HI
ST
RS
SP
AC
FT
DH
Lunke
69
78
72
76
74
60
64
68
69
Roson
67
78
76
67
70
54
74
73
66
Laengen
69
75
72
75
74
61
66
70
74
Arensman
71
73
70
68
73
63
66
72
69
Eiking
71
69
80
78
74
68
76
75
69
Hvideberg
74
64
69
70
71
61
64
77
64
Knotten
70
62
62
70
69
59
60
66
66
Rojus
73
59
67
65
72
77
76
60
64
Only stage glory and experience for the Norwegians here, as the race won’t help them in their hunt for safety in the PCT. Still, Eiking is somewhat of an outsider, and shouldn’t be ignored.
Grieg-Maersk
FL
MT
HI
ST
RS
SP
AC
FT
DH
Paret-Peintre
72
76
77
73
75
72
74
72
70
Brkic
72
74
74
74
73
67
72
64
67
Lastra
68
74
75
72
73
69
71
74
65
Kron
72
69
77
73
74
65
71
73
70
Bazhkou
71
69
75
73
75
63
64
67
61
Ringheim
72
68
67
75
71
73
75
66
67
Hulgaard
70
65
69
72
70
65
65
67
67
De Gendt
76
62
73
77
75
65
69
77
66
Another nordic team here, and this one could still take a top 10 in the PT classification, as well as another monument.
Well, in theory, as they don’t bring a clear leader. Maybe a breakaway win by Paret-Peintre is possible, but that would be a big fault from the peloton.
Huski Chocolate
FL
MT
HI
ST
RS
SP
AC
FT
DH
Formolo
72
79
80
76
76
69
71
66
65
Rodriguez
69
77
75
71
74
63
73
72
64
Majka
69
75
70
75
71
57
72
65
72
Evans
65
75
71
69
71
57
67
67
62
Conti
67
75
75
70
71
68
74
70
66
Dima
67
71
68
69
70
63
62
71
62
Hofstede
70
70
76
73
71
61
74
78
71
Lammertink
74
68
76
75
73
68
69
81
73
Led by local man Davide Formolo, Huski come in Italy with the clear goal of non relegating. For that, they only need to do best than Aegon and Duolingo. Not an easy task by any mean, but they have a solid team with their leader, and a bit of motivation!
ISA - Hexacta
FL
MT
HI
ST
RS
SP
AC
FT
DH
Bongiorno
69
79
75
77
77
58
69
69
65
Sepulveda
70
75
77
74
73
70
73
70
63
Cepeda Hernandez
70
73
75
70
69
66
72
71
68
Zakarin
71
72
76
72
71
64
71
75
69
Vakoc
71
71
81
75
71
71
74
61
66
Vincent
70
71
77
79
72
67
71
69
70
Restrepo
70
68
75
71
69
70
72
65
68
Arissol
74
66
71
70
73
62
68
76
70
Another top 10 team needing to save their spot, and why not climb up a bit. Though they seem a bit safer than Gazelle under the menace of Polar, a bad result could well see them out of the top 10.
Their lead might be shared between Bongiorno and Vakoc; and as with all teams with a co-lead, let’s hope for them that it won’t finish in a battle of egos.
Isostar - Specialized
FL
MT
HI
ST
RS
SP
AC
FT
DH
Phinney
73
85
77
77
74
72
75
68
71
Higuita
69
78
77
76
78
66
75
73
64
Petelin
69
78
74
70
71
54
75
72
61
Chamorro
66
78
75
72
76
66
74
78
74
Pronskiy
64
75
71
72
71
61
71
71
70
Verschaeve
66
74
72
74
73
62
70
68
65
Cherkasov
80
70
71
72
74
70
75
65
67
Gayral
72
65
71
69
70
70
71
74
62
Main goal for Isostar, help Phinney take back his individual crown? As Herklotz isn’t here, the American only needs a top 30 to win the ProTour, and that would be a bad result for him… With the like of Higuita, Petelin and Chamorro to help him, and Gayral and Cherkasov to chase the breakaway on the flat, hard to think of Isostar as anything else than a favorite for the win.
King Power
FL
MT
HI
ST
RS
SP
AC
FT
DH
Smith
69
78
75
72
74
66
74
75
71
Sosa
66
78
78
75
79
59
74
75
66
Gidich
72
76
82
78
77
62
75
76
68
Phodingam
68
75
72
69
70
64
71
74
70
Quita
74
74
77
75
75
71
74
83
72
Herregodts
72
71
72
71
75
67
69
73
66
Chiu
73
67
74
76
73
71
73
72
68
Sirironnachai
71
66
77
77
74
64
73
80
69
Currently 2nd in the rankings, more than 100 points clear of Puma-SAP, King Power are in with a great season. Gidich will be their leader to defend their runner-up position, with help from Smith and Sosa, the latter having the qualities to have depth result on his own.
“...the secret of the Great Stories is that they have no secrets. The Great Stories are the ones you have heard and want to hear again. The ones you can enter anywhere and inhabit comfortably."
A. Roy
It was a hard first season in the PT for Los Pollos Hermanos, who certainly are going back to the PCT. But before that, they will try to send Kelderman up to a good result, after a satisfying top 10 in Montréal. More than that, it’s also the occasion for the riders to get valuable experience, with the goal to bounce back immediately next season.
MOL Cycling Team
FL
MT
HI
ST
RS
SP
AC
FT
DH
Galta
69
81
73
78
79
63
66
66
70
Kwiatkowski
72
78
81
74
76
67
75
73
69
Brozyna
69
78
69
76
73
64
69
63
67
Stancu
67
78
69
70
74
59
71
70
66
Kenyeres
66
76
69
75
75
52
69
65
66
Dina
69
75
74
71
70
62
76
74
65
Domagalski
67
74
70
68
67
61
63
64
61
Filutas
70
72
74
70
68
65
74
76
69
Battle for the top 10! Currently 7th, only 3 points behind ELCO and 71 ahead of EA and ISA, MOL certainly has to fight for the honor positions! Kwiatkowski should be their leader in that respect, and he’s got a great lieutenant/free element with him in the name of Galta.
MOL Cycling TeamMoser - Sygic
FL
MT
HI
ST
RS
SP
AC
FT
DH
Sagan
72
74
83
78
74
73
76
71
78
Cerny
71
70
76
75
67
75
79
74
66
Neuman
71
70
76
69
74
69
77
74
71
Ponzi
72
69
80
71
66
72
74
73
70
Lagane
69
69
75
68
70
74
75
68
62
Toupalik
76
65
75
73
73
65
70
66
74
Di Maggio
63
63
80
70
65
63
72
65
71
Kiskonen
73
59
68
77
76
75
76
68
72
It’s safe to say that Moser should not relegate, and that the top 10 is out of reach. It’s all about earning a top 15 in the classification, and race glory for Sagan, Ponzi and their teammates. They could lack of climbing skills though, if the other teams make it very hard in the longest climbs.
Polar
FL
MT
HI
ST
RS
SP
AC
FT
DH
Carpenter
67
76
76
72
71
66
72
72
69
Barthe
73
73
76
73
71
68
76
79
69
Izagirre
70
73
80
72
71
59
63
68
69
Putti
68
70
73
73
71
59
67
79
70
Oldani
70
68
68
68
73
68
71
66
66
Honore
70
67
75
72
72
65
73
71
70
Brockhoff
79
63
70
74
76
62
73
64
68
Baugnies
74
53
68
74
67
61
67
70
61
Breaking in the top 10 and holding Grieg off must be the day’s objectif for Polar, though that might be difficult. Izzagire is their best shot at a good result, but he’s pretty much on his own here, so he’ll need a very good day.
Team Popo4Ever p/b Morshynska
FL
MT
HI
ST
RS
SP
AC
FT
DH
Padun
67
82
77
72
74
60
75
76
70
Pluchkin
70
81
71
72
72
63
68
63
62
Spilak
65
78
75
70
71
60
64
64
61
Rikunov
69
77
73
73
71
67
66
63
74
Nitu
68
76
74
73
70
52
70
62
62
Topchanyuk
67
76
72
70
70
59
68
72
62
Andriafenomananiaina
65
76
72
74
74
52
71
76
64
Prevar
72
71
80
77
70
67
73
63
66
The second wildcard of the race! The Ukrainians of Popo4Ever are safe enough in their division, so they brought in an experienced team, led by Mark Padun, with the help from veterans Pluchkin and Spilak. They bring in a pretty consistent team, who has a shot to surprise the favorites.
Team Puma - SAP
FL
MT
HI
ST
RS
SP
AC
FT
DH
Madouas
74
75
77
76
73
73
73
66
68
Stork
69
75
71
74
73
61
70
62
68
Zwiehoff
68
75
74
71
74
61
75
66
75
Schinnagel
68
75
74
77
72
65
73
69
74
Egger
66
75
74
70
76
64
74
73
65
Mager
70
74
77
68
70
60
71
68
70
Cemazar
68
72
70
70
71
61
64
66
66
Bissegger
73
66
68
71
75
72
72
64
71
3rd before tomorrow’s race in the PT rankings, Puma theoretically has a shot to climb back to 2nd. Suffice to say it will be difficult, as they don’t have a favorite in their line-up. Happily for them, they seem safe enough from Aker. Mager and Madouas are the best shot at a decent result for the Germans.
Team UBS
FL
MT
HI
ST
RS
SP
AC
FT
DH
Schir
67
77
72
73
72
59
65
69
68
Buchmann
71
76
81
73
74
65
73
67
70
Abdurrahman
68
75
71
73
73
60
68
74
64
Abreu
73
73
73
75
71
52
73
79
67
Reichenbach
70
72
78
74
67
62
67
72
66
Bagioli
70
70
74
73
71
70
73
73
66
Müller
70
65
80
76
71
66
73
75
63
Jacobs
74
60
68
75
74
65
67
71
73
Buchmann has had some good results lately, with a victory in Japan, but they will need more than that in Italy. A miracle is what they need to stay in the PT, and we hope their leader will put the fight needed! They have a decent climbing depth, but must hope that it’ll not be too hard, if they want Müller to survive.
Tinkoff - La Datcha Team
FL
MT
HI
ST
RS
SP
AC
FT
DH
Burmann
65
76
70
66
73
54
76
65
62
Foliforov
73
75
72
79
77
61
59
67
73
Rybalkin
65
75
73
78
77
65
69
67
73
Skujins
70
70
83
80
77
68
76
66
66
Strakhov
69
70
78
77
76
61
70
64
67
Trakhov
68
69
79
78
74
69
75
70
69
Sulimov
73
64
70
77
71
65
71
77
75
Kanerva
69
64
79
75
69
64
76
75
69
The Russians seem to have a good hold of their 5th position in the rankings, barring a very big ride of either ELCO or MOL. But with Skujins as their leader, a veteran who has in physical form what he lacks of climbing skills, they will defend themselves. They also have a decent depth.
Zwift Pro Cycling
FL
MT
HI
ST
RS
SP
AC
FT
DH
Tejada
67
75
72
70
74
59
69
66
64
Narvaez
70
72
77
71
71
73
74
73
67
Yates
74
70
81
77
70
77
80
74
64
Carr
67
69
75
72
70
59
71
64
59
Dewulf
72
66
70
73
74
68
71
76
69
Ackermann
72
65
77
75
71
77
80
66
63
Welten
74
64
68
70
69
77
75
56
67
Dekker
73
61
64
76
74
73
73
65
63
Last year winner Simon Yates come back with his team of Zwift! The Americans have been condemned to go back to the PCT some months ago, so it’s all about race glory, experience and preparing next season. A back to back win in the last monument of the year would surely please the sponsors, though it looks quite difficult, with a certain lack of team depth.
And here we are! In for a good battle isn’t it? Don’t hesitate to tune in tomorrow, to follow the race and its consequences.
“...the secret of the Great Stories is that they have no secrets. The Great Stories are the ones you have heard and want to hear again. The ones you can enter anywhere and inhabit comfortably."
A. Roy
Great preview! I am pretty sure that this is a mountain race, so quite surprised there are few big time climbers here. Phinney should be the main favourite alongside Lopez, I would love one final Isostar vs. Evonik battle for a big win.
Depending on how the race develops, either Preidler or Mohoric should be a solid contender for a top 10, which will be a good result for us here.
All eyes on Aegon, Duolingo and Huski, though! If it is indeed a mountain race, Aegon will be in big trouble... If we get something similar to last year, where it was also said the mountain stat should be more important than the hill stat, anything can happen.
And what a preview that was. Thank you, Imladrik, looking forward to the report
Juan last race in PT. Thank you for an extensive preview, Imladrik, and best of luck to everyone, in particular the three teams fighting for that final PT spot
The three main things to watch for me in order of importance:
1. We have a top ten goal here and after already failing the top 10 LBL goal by a lot, we need to deliver here. Of course, i always want to improve our "monument hunting legacy" but for once, i actually prefer a solid ride to a top ten over a high risk high reward approach even if it costs us a place or two.
2. Relegation fight. Such a narrow fight there. Hard to cheer against any of the involved teams but im kinda rooting for Aegon after all the history between our teams.
3. Phinney as a man to watch. Always interesting to see a rider like him here and with the title race decided, it doesnt matter too much but i want to know whether it was the right decision to send him here.
Formolo looked to be in a very good day, but he did a lot of work and 8th is good especially since it's better than what all the rival teams did, but it also could have ended badly as he clearly did not have a lot left for the sprint.
Think we dodged the bullet, but we'll wait for the official confirmation before celebrating.
With so many strong climbers here it would have always been difficult for Keizer to shine in what was probably his last race for us. Great to see Osorio attacking in his final unmaxed race after getting him as a level one, as for now his career will be purely aimed at domestique work
Thanks for the great report Imladrik, and congratulations to Roman!
Sagan was probably the only favorite i really did not want to win. Solely out of egoistic reasons as i wanted to be the first manager to win all five monuments. Unfortunately, Lopez was so far unable to win LBL. But after all those years of Bewley dominance, it feels like the right team to achieve this historic feat of monument domination. Congrats roman!
Very well played by Sagan, who must have been on a superb day. Congratulations, Roman!
For us, it looked like positioning cost Preidler dearly, but after all there wasn’t much to race for here for us.
As the report said, and also as alexkr commented, that Formolo performance should see Huski safe from relegation, but we’ll have to wait for the confirmation. Very well done by Formolo, who definitely looked stronger than 8th place as well.
Congrats to roman for an extraordinary performance. Seing Sagan win obviously means that Lombardia wasn't hard enough, still Phinney looked strong, maybe the strongest if he would've followed the decisive move. A good but not outstanding way to finish!
Thanks a lot for both the preview and the report, Imladrik! A pleasure to read them.
Thanks a lot, guys!
This is surely the best win of my season in what surely is the farewell race of Sagan in his best version. He nor my team ever won Lombardia, so striking a win in probably the last chance he and possibly my team ever had - what a story.
A moment for some boring historical stats:
Milano San Remo: Bewley 2015 and 2016
Ronde van Vlaanderen: Bewley 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2019
Paris - Roubaix: Bewley 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018
Liege - Bastogne - Liege: Sagan 2018 and 2020
Giro di Lombardia: Sagan 2022
Sadly Lutsenko didn't have the legs and finished 22nd in the same group as his helpers Bernard, Karnulin, Peters and Sosnitskiy. Bad result by our leader, but having five riders in top 40 does make up for it somewhat.
