Il Lombardia 2022 LIVE - Who can prevent Pogacar from taking two in a row?

"I feel sadness to leave the peloton, but I enjoyed it. I'm happy with the level I have. Everyone rode brilliantly today. It's time for the young guys now.

I knew that I was good today but we had Mas in the front, so I tried to mark everyone behind."

"It's really amazing to repeat the victory. The teamwork today, I cannot say. They did such an amazing job...

The race went just how we wanted. I tried to attack on Civiglio but Mas was clearly on the same level as me...

I've felt every day better since [Giro dell'Emilia]. i knew that today I should have pretty good legs."

He is confident enough to lead out, as Mas goes first, round him and then wide on the left of the road. It's closer than you might expect and only in the last 50m can Pogacar be confident of victory. The first rider to win Il Lombardia in his first two attempts.

Mikel Landa comes home in 3rd, Sergio Higuita beats Rodriguez for 4th, while of the chasers Alejandro Valverde wins the sprint for 6th.

Not putting in a lot of effort, as they approach the finish, but it seems like he doesn't want to risk finishing third.

He's not that far behind and they're sure to eyeball each other. An opportunity for the Basque rider to spring a surprise and come over the top?

Pogacar follows and Landa is immediately dropped. That improves the odds in Pogacar's favour, who may now be happy to take this to the finish, but Mas tries another one, and still cannot break Pogacar, who surges himself.

And it's all gotten a bit cagey. Are the other two waiting for Pogacar's big attack? Surely the best form of defence would be to try something themselves? Mas is not going to win the sprint out of this group, and nor is Landa.

Mikel Landa is putting in the most effort, keen to prevent the chase group from coming back, while Enric Mas is doing the least. The trio has a lead of just shy of 40 seconds.

Mikel Landa is able to rejoin the pair over the top of Civiglio. Just one climb left now, and it's surely between these three for the win. Pogacar opens up a small gap that Landa is obliged to close.

He has to, but Pogacar counters. The pair won't be separated, but it's too much for Mikel Landa.

And Enric Mas (Movistar) is the only rider who can match the Slovenian's pace. But what can the Spaniard do to bring the two-time Tour winner down?

Mikel Landa (Bahrain Victorious) was a few bends behind but is able to come back to the front. Higuita and Vingegaard are ten seconds further behind.

There will be no last hurrah for the shark, and nor will Alaphilippe be adding another Monument to his palmares.

Can Kelderman, Fabbro and Grosschartner do something for Aleksandr Vlasov, for Sergio Higuita, or for themselves?

We're on Civiglio, which at 10% for 4km, must look like a wall after all the work they've put in so far.

It's not a long climb but it's a difficult one, with it's switchbacks and differentials in grade. Rafa Majka, Davide Formolo, Marc Hirschi, Joao Almeida emerge at the fore and we are reminded of quite how strong Pogacar's team is, as we see all the riders he has at his disposal.

He uses his expertise as a descender to make his way round the Quick Step riders who have taken the lead. Could we be about to see one last shark attack on the shores of Lake Como?

The descent ahead of San Fermo della Battaglia has reduced the size of the peloton by quite a few riders.

Through Albese con Cassano they go. Two ascents of San Fermo della Battaglia, separated by a single time up Civiglio, will decide this race.

But they aren't the only team present in numbers. Bora Hansgrohe have several there, as do EF Education First and Ineos, and there's at least four at the front in the sky blue of Astana. There's nothing any of them can actually do at this point, with the speed UAE are going, but at least they're there.

And we see a significant acceleration as the race comes with sound of the bells of Madonna del Ghisallo. The peloton is still relatively thick, but UAE are using the corners to their advantage and we can expect a very real thinning of the herd to take place in the coming kilometres.

After all the work they've done, Valverde only has Enric Mas at his disposal. Jumbo Visma continue to drive things on, and UAE Emirates are benefitting more than anyone else. Pogacar's still has five colleagues in front of him, while Vingegaard is down to less than half that.

Tobias Foss (Jumbo Visma) has gone, as has Robert Stannard (Alpecin Deceuninck) as team-mates of the former, Chris Harper - man of the match, says Rob Hatch - and Koen Bouwman, lay down the law. Vingegaard has clearly requested a hard pace, but that's no problem for Tadej Pogacar and UAE Team Emirates.

On Valverde and Nibali watch, both are still in the top 25.