Slovenia’s Tadej Pogacar won the Tour of Lombardy for a second time as Vincenzo Nibali and Alejandro Valverde bowed out of professional racing.
The UAE Team Emirates rider out-sprinted Movistar’s Enric Mas after a gruelling 253km race, with Bahrain Victorious’s Mikel Landa claiming third, his first podium in a Monument – the big five one-day races.
Valverde, 42, rolled back the years to finish in sixth place but Nibali, 37, could not muster a final fight as he was dropped with 20km to go.
Italian Nibali, racing for Astana, retires with four Grand Tour titles – the Tour de France (2014), Vuelta a Espana (2010) and Giro d’Italia (2013 and 2016).
Movistar’s Valverde is more of a one-day specialist, although he did win the Vuelta in 2009.
In 2010, the Spaniard was handed a two-year ban for his links to Operation Puerto. His DNA had been matched to a blood bag seized from doping doctor Eufemiano Fuentes.
Valverde returned to competition in 2012 after serving his suspension.
The Spaniard became road world champion in 2018 and over the course of his career won Liege-Bastogne-Liege four times, and the preceding classic La Fleche Wallonne on five occasions.