Pogacar wins Tre Valli Varesine warm-up for Il Lombardia Monument

Tadej Pogacar added yet another victory to his stunning season by winning the Tre Valli Varesine cycling race on Tuesday as he prepares for the final Monument of the season.

Having recently added the European title to his world crown, Pogacar also prevailed in northern Italy thanks to a trademark attack more than 20 kilometres from the end of a tough 200.3km course.

Pogacar has won 19 times this season and is red-hot favourite to make it 20 on Saturday when he will bid to become the first man to win the Giro di Lombardia five years in a row.

The 27-year-old is aiming to join Italian great Fausto Coppi on five wins at the “Race of the Falling Leaves”, which this year runs from Como to Bergamo.

He is also hoping to match a feat only ever achieved by Belgian superstar Eddy Merckx by winning three of the five Monuments in the same season.

In April, Pogacar won both the Tour of Flanders and Liege-Bastogne-Liege, having also finished second at Paris-Roubaix, and a month earlier he was third at Milan-San Remo.

Merckx managed a trio of Monuments four times in his career and has a record 19 victories in the prestigious one-day classics.

Pogacar is bidding for his 10th, which would put him out on his own in third place behind only Merckx and another Belgian, Roger De Vlaeminck (11).