Young Frenchman Warren Barguil has raced to 20th place at the fifth and final monument of the season, Il Lombardia in Italy, while Simon Geschke spent the day in the breakaway. Il Lombardia, The Race of the Falling Leaves, is a final chance for Classics success of the season, and Team Giant-Alpecin headed into the race with a strong team to challenge for a strong result.

From the off the team set about showing its intentions with Simon Geschke fighting his way into the day’s breakaway of 11 that would spend a large amount of the long 245km race out front. With the gap growing to eight minutes the escapees were allowed a fair amount of breathing space but they were kept under control by a strong peloton keen to bring things back together.

Over the climb of the Ghisallo the race started to split as the pressure was piled on behind, bringing the race back together as more riders started to break clear at the front of the race.

Two riders broke clear in the final 25km and it looked a strong move but Astana were riding hard on the front for their leader Vincenzo Nibali who set about attacking and trying to crack those around him. Nibali eventually broke clear with 17km remaining and had the strength to pull out a healthy margin, eventually finishing with 21 seconds advantage over his nearest chaser.

“I was feeling good today but with 25km to go I ran out of legs,” explained Barguil after the race. “I think that the right race preparation plays a part in getting a top ten result here and you saw this today. I got over the wall in the top 10 so I’m disappointed because I’m sure that I can do better. Still though finishing my third Lombardia shows my motivation is still there this late in the season.”