Image 1 of 56 Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) soloed to victory at Il Lombardia, the Spaniard's second straight win at the Italian Monument (Image credit: AFP) Image 2 of 56 Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) in action during Il Lombardia (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 3 of 56 Rui Alberto Faria Da Costa (Movistar) (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 4 of 56 Robert Gesink (Team Belkin) (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 5 of 56 Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) and Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) on the podium once more (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 6 of 56 Damiano Cunego (Lampre - Merida) leads the break (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 7 of 56 Rui Costa (Movistar) drops back to the team car (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 8 of 56 Diego Rosa (Androni Giocattoli) leads the break (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 9 of 56 Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 10 of 56 Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) arrives at hospital after his fall (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 11 of 56 Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) on the attack (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 12 of 56 Ignatas Konovalovas (MTN - Qhubeka) (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 13 of 56 Rui Costa (Movistar) worked for Alejandro Valverde (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 14 of 56 Domenico Pozzovivo (AG2R La Mondiale) fell at the finish (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 15 of 56 World champion Rui Costa (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 16 of 56 Two-time Il Lombardia champion Philippe Gilbert leads BMC teammate Greg Van Avermaet (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 17 of 56 Daniel Martin (Garmin-Sharp) leads Rafa Majka (Saxo-Tinkoff) in Il Lombardia (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 18 of 56 Rafal Majka (Team Saxo - Tinkoff) (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 19 of 56 Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 20 of 56 Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) on the podium (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 21 of 56 Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) take his second Lombardia title (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 22 of 56 Alejandro Valverde had to settle for second (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 23 of 56 Rafal Majka (Saxo Bank) finished third (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 24 of 56 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) crashed at the finish (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 25 of 56 Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) win the 2013 Giro di Lombardia (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 26 of 56 Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) and his Katusha teammates (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 27 of 56 Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) after his win (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 28 of 56 Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) leaves his rivals behind (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 29 of 56 Nairo Quintana (Movistar) works for Alejandro Valverde (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 30 of 56 Darwin Atapuma (Colombia) (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 31 of 56 Domenico Pozzovivo (AG2R - La Mondiale) leads the other favourites (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 32 of 56 Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) win the 2013 Giro di Lombardia (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 33 of 56 Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) on form for another win (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 34 of 56 Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) makes up, slightly, for missing out on the Worlds (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 35 of 56 Rafal Majka (Team Saxo - Tinkoff) (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 36 of 56 Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) leaves his rivals behind (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 37 of 56 The Lombardia podium with Majka, Rodriguez and Valverde (Image credit: Sirotti) Image 38 of 56 Joaquin Rodriguez (Katusha) was out to defend his 2012 crown (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 39 of 56 Italian champion Ivan Santaromita would be BMC's best finisher at Il Lombardia in 9th place (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 40 of 56 Rui Costa (Movistar) makes his first appearance as World champion (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 41 of 56 Rui Costa (Movistar) was the main draw at the Giro di Lombardia start (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 42 of 56 Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 43 of 56 Rui Costa's Pinarello (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 44 of 56 Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) at the start (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 45 of 56 Rui Costa (Movistar) with his loyal fans (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 46 of 56 Rui Costa (Movistar) peaks out from the team bus (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 47 of 56 Peter Sagan (Cannondale) (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 48 of 56 Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) at the start (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 49 of 56 Rui Costa (Movistar) and quite possibly his biggest fan (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 50 of 56 Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 51 of 56 Nairo Quintana (Movistar) (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 52 of 56 The MTN - Qhubeka team (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 53 of 56 Robert Gesink (Belkin) before the start (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 54 of 56 Michele Scarponi (Lampre) (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 55 of 56 The peloton at the start of the 2013 Giro di Lombardia (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 56 of 56 The riders start the 2013 Giro di Lombardia (Image credit: Bettini Photo)

Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) defended his Giro di Lombardia title after attacking on the final climb of the Villa Vergano and soloing to victory in the 242km race on Sunday. The Spaniard finished 17 seconds ahead of Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) and 23 seconds up on Rafal Majka (Saxo-Tinkoff). Daniel Martin (Garmin-Sharp) placed fourth at 45 seconds.

Rodriguez came into the race as the red hot favourite after finishing second in last week’s World Championships and just as in 2012 the defending champion used the Villa Vergano as his launch pad, skipping clear on the 15 percent slopes and establishing a small but crucial buffer on the chasers.

"If I wanted to win, I knew I had to attack then," Rodriguez said. "Lombardia is never easy, especially in weather like this. It was a very hard race - I think we raced faster than last year."

The win was nearly identical to that of Rodriguez's 2012 Lombardia success, although this year's rain was not nearly as torrential as last year's. The Spaniard not only gained important points toward the overall WorldTour, he also turned around a season riddled with disappointments, the last of which came last Sunday with his devastating second place at the world championships.

In Florence last weekend, Rodriguez's 10-second advantage wilted under the power of Rui Costa's chase, but the same advantage in Lombardia was enough to net him another Monument for his palmares. Rodriguez said he thought about the similarity of the race situation to that of the Worlds, and was never quite sure until the end if he would win.

"My radio fell out and it was only in the last kilometer that I could hear from my directeur sportif that it was done."

The group behind Rodriguez contained Valverde - the rider who many criticised for costing Spain gold at the Worlds - plus Martin and Majka but on the slippery descent to the line the trio’s chase broke down, first with Valverde dropping his two companions and then with Martin crashing on the final turn.

Rodriguez, though, had no such problems, creating clear air between himself and Valverde, while world champion Rui Costa sacrificed his chances of victory by working for Valverde earlier in the race.

The win provided Rodriguez some amount of solace after his tearful display at the end of the Worlds, and with Chris Froome (Sky) a non-starter the Katusha rider claimed the WorldTour’s top spot for a second consecutive season.

Rodriguez admitted that the world championship loss was hard to handle, but said he preferred to focus on the future, and the victory today will help him look toward 2014.

"Of course I wish I could win the WorldTour while wearing the world champion's jersey," he said. "You can't forget about the world championships because of its importance, but it's important that I could recover so well and be able to focus on today."

Bergamo beginnings

While the riders enjoyed some tentative sunshine at the start of the 242km race in Bergamo, the clouds were touching the tips of the climbs, soaking the riders as they headed toward Lake Como. The first moves went on the slopes of the Valico di Valcava with six riders emerging together: Fabio Felline (Androni-Giacatolli), Alessandro De Marchi (Cannondale), Michael Albasini (Orica-GreenEdge), Reto Hollenstein (IAM Cycling), Carlos Quintero (Colombia) and Willem Wauters (Vacansoleil-DCM).

Albasini and Felline were the first to get dropped, while further back Peter Sagan (Cannondale) and later Andy Schleck (RadioShack) called it a day. The four men left up front never gained much of an advantage, and what was a two-minute lead was whittled down to mere seconds on the Colle Brianza at the mid-point of the race, and then the race was all back together.

A large group of 21 riders separated themselves from the peloton over the crest, but the lower slopes of the daunting Colma di Sormano called an end to their lead. A crash leading into the climb spelled the end of Vincenzo Nibali's race - he limped to the ambulance, favoring his left knee.

Saxo-Tinkoff led what was left of the peloton up the wall of the Sormano, but lost Alberto Contador before the upper reaches of the climb. It was instead Nairo Quintana and Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) who gained separation at the top. The pair were joined by Astana's Enrico Gasparotto, Giampaolo Caruso (Katusha) and Italian champion Ivan Santaromita (BMC) on the tricky descent.

On the way to Bellagio the main chasing group came within striking distance of the five leaders, and Thomas Voeckler (Europcar) took the chance to attack, bridge to the leaders and then leave them all behind. With the Madonna del Ghisallo looming, the group behind seemed content to let him burn his matches. Only Marcel Wyss (IAM) could be lured into chasing solo, but a crash took the impetus out of his effort.

A steady tempo set by Katusha for defending champion Rodriguez allowed the chasing peloton to swell to 30 riders as they made their way up the Madonna del Ghisallo, 2:35 behind Voeckler.

However, with a long stretch of flat roads and Michael Rogers marshalling the chase for Saxo-Tinkoff, the Frenchman looked to be riding on borrowed time. Strung out, and with the conditions worsening, the peloton began to slowly close with Voeckler ticking through his show reel of facial expressions in time with every desperate second lost.

With the waters of Como as the backdrop, and the Villa Vergano quickly approaching, Voeckler’s defences were futile. His earpiece theatrically discarded with the bunch on his heels, it was Mickaël Chérel (Ag2R) who led the reduced peloton up to Voeckler on the lower slopes of the climb.

Quintana and Valverde were still in menacing mood but Rodriguez lurked in the shadows watching every move. Ivan Basso (Cannondale) and Daniel Martin also looked comfortable but it was another Frenchman, Thibaut Pinot (FDJ), who scampered clear first. He drew Domenico Pozzovivo (Ag2R) with him and when the remnants of the peloton regrouped only a dozen riders remained in contention.

Pozzovivo decided to remain at the front of the action, setting the pace as the bunch held tight as they approached the final tough ramps of the climb. Rodriguez had played his first card in hunting down Pozzovivo and Pinot moments before, but his second turn of speed inflicted the significant damage.

It was a textbook move from the Spaniard. On the front, out of the saddle, Majka, Valverde and Martin could only watch as the rider everyone calls Purito left only a trail of smoke.