Pogacar goes back-to-back with second successive Il Lombardia monument win
After UAE Team Emirates set up the former Tour de France champion on the lumpy route from Bergamo, whilst softening up his rivals, he attacked on the penultimate climb, taking Mas and Landa with him.
The two-up sprint was an easy win from Pogacar, who never looked liked being beaten by his Spanish rival, winning his third monument in a career already shaping up to be one of the best in cycling history.
A break of eight went away early in the day with the big names of Lawson Craddock, Alessandro De Marchi and Kenny Ellisonde joined by five others. They were able to get a maximum advantage of more than five minutes, but Movistar and Team Jumbo-Visma (TJV) kept them on a tight leash in the early going.
They were caught with 75 kilometres to go as the bunch hit the lower slopes of the iconic climb Madonna del Ghisallo. TJV's Chris Harper and Koen Bouwman were pulling on the front for their teammate, Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard - who had been training specifically for the sharp climbs on the route.
His team set a fearsome pace on the 8.7km climb, but lurking just behind was Team UAE Emirates, who had Pogacar in their midsts - setting up a semi rematch between the Tour's top two.
Also in the peleton were two riders bowing out after the race. Vincenzo Nibali was looking for his third win in this race before retirement, Alejandro Valverde his first.
UAE Emirates took over near the top of the Ghisallo and upped the pace for their leader Pogacar. The Slovenian won last year's edition and his team put plenty of riders into trouble as they reached the top - even isolating Vingegaard in the process.
The pace slowed though as the riders hit the flat - allowing Vingegaard's teammates to come back before the next climb.
With 29 kilometres left to race - and on the next climb - UAE Emirates were at it again, driving the pace with an impressive number of riders.
Marc Hircshi was the one to take it up in a huge show of strength from his team, and they were rewarded with a stinging attack from Pogacar on the Civiglio climb. Only Enric Mas, fresh off a win at Giro dell'Emilia, could follow and they had a small gap to Mikel Landa going over the top of the climb. Vingegaard distanced to the chasing group.
On the descent, Landa came back to the two leaders and with 10 kilometres to go as they swept through Como, the win and the podium would come from the front three.
The final climb of San Fermo Del Battaglia would be the battleground for the monument and Mas attacked on the upper slopes, getting rid of Landa and gapping Pogacar only to see both return to his wheel. The Spaniard went again and as they crested the climb, Pogacar was still there - both riders unable to go solo.
Pogacar, a solid sprinter, looked unlikely to be beaten as the duo raced to the finish and he celebrated with 50 metres left to take the final monument of the season.
At the line, Pogacar called his season "almost perfect" and given his loss at the Tour, he will be hungry for more in 2023.
