'We were a little bit afraid' - Pogacar credits Quinn Simmons's impressive 4th at Il Lombardia

Although Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) naturally stole the headlines for yet another demonstration at Il Lombardia on Saturday, one rider who deserved plenty of plaudits for his efforts was the American champion, Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek), and the World Champion made sure to do so, stating, “It was really impressive how he [Simmons] rode today.”

Having featured as part of a 14-rider strong breakaway, Simmons decided to roll the dice with 82km remaining and embarked on a solo effort. The American was out front alone for almost 50km until the World Champion powered his way across after attacking on the lower slopes of the Passo di Ganda, and Pogačar was asked if he said anything to the American when the junction was made.

“No, I couldn’t say nothing. I saw him, he also wasn’t able to say anything, but this was some ride from Quinn, it was really impressive how he rode today," said Pogačar in his post-race interview with Cyclingpronet.

Earlier in the race, Simmons had built his advantage to over three minutes, and at the foot of the Passo di Ganda, the American Champion still held 2:40, something that even Pogačar admitted was a little concerning at one point, considering the American’s strength, as illustrated by his normalised power of 390 watts for nearly six hours.

“It was a big ride and we were a little bit afraid already on the long climb before, he’s really dangerous, but I think in the final climb it was just enough to catch him.”

In the end, Simmons was distanced by Pogačar, who went on to claim a record fifth successive edition of any monument. Simmons was also caught and passed by Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) and Michael Storer (Tudor) on the descent, but managed to battle his way to an impressive 4th place finish, his best ever result in a monument, obliterating his previous best, a 73rd place at Milan-San Remo.

Another rider whom Pogačar was asked about was his young Mexican teammate, Isaac del Toro. Whilst the rest of the UAE Team Emirates-XRG were put to work for the World Champion, Del Toro was notably given a free pass, able to follow the wheels, and this was part of the plan, according to Pogačar.

“I think it was Isaac’s first monument, and we all know how he has been riding the last races, and we gave him a chance today,” said Pogačar.

Beyond Pogačar, few riders have been operating on the same level as Del Toro in 2025 and in particular, in recent weeks, where the young Mexican claimed six Italian one-day races in the space of 32 days, hence UAE’s decision to give the 21-year-old a free role alongside the World Champion at Il Lombardia.

We protect him as well, not only me, because everybody else sacrificed for all the work, and in the end, we say ‘Isaac, you follow the rest when we try to attack, or if he can go, he can follow me’, but yeah, I think he did an amazing job today.”

In the end, Del Toro won the sprint for 5th from a group of five riders thanks to help in the finale from teammate Jay Vine, who ended 9th. Adding to a 13th place finish at Milan-San Remo back in March, it’s another impressive result in only the third monument of his career, and it feels as though Del Toro will be a rider in the hunt at the biggest races for many years to come, something which the World Champion concurs with, stating, “He [Del Toro] has a bright future ahead of him.”