Trek Factory Racing went into the final WorldTour event and fifth Monument with high ambitions, but the 245-kilometer brutally tough parcours of Il Lombardia coupled with a rare “off-day” for Bauke Mollema to dictate elsewise.

In the critical moment of the race some fifty kilometers from the end the ridiculous steep Muro di Sormano blew the race apart; over the top and on the ensuing tricky hairpin descent less than 30 riders remained in contention for the win.

Trek Factory Racing went into the decisive climb in good position – the teamwork and team tactics were impeccable as always – but the legs did not comply.  By the top of Sormano the pinstripes had fallen too far back and the technical descent made chasing difficult, if not impossible.

“We started the climb Sormano in a good position,” explained director Adriano Baffi, “and at the top we were too far back and it was almost impossible to come back from that position. There was a moment afterward when Astana was pulling easier, and it was then that a lot of riders came back and we had a moment’s hope that we would too…”

By the bottom of the descent it was apparent that the race would be between two leaders and 24 chasers – everyone else had fallen too far behind and out of the game, including Mollema, who normally would in the mix with the leading group of favorites.

“Yeah, maybe the season was just a little bit too long for me,” agreed Mollema. “I wanted to try today, I really like this race, and I felt quite good for the first part of the race. When it really started on the first part of the Sormano I was in good position and felt okay until we hit the steepest part and I just didn’t have the power.

“This is a really hard race, it’s an honest race, and when you are not good enough you just get dropped and that was my story.  As a team, it’s a pity because we were not in the race for the last 50 kilometers. For the first 150 kilometers Giacomo [Nizzolo], Laurent [Didier] and Popo [Yaroslav Popovych] did a really good job of protecting us and keeping us in front so it’s too bad we couldn’t transfer that in a result.”

Vincenzo Nibali ended his 2015 season on a high note by winning the prestigious Race of the Falling Leaves after superb teamwork. Daniel Moreno (Katusha) and Thibaut Pinot (FDJ.fr) rounded out the top three with each rider crossing the finish line alone - a testament to a brutal race that left only tattered remnants by the end.

“Our expectation today was for sure higher than what we had,” added Baffi. “But our approach to the race was very, very good. Bauke was our candidate and at the end he was completely empty, and when you have your leader not in his best day there is nothing you can do. It was a bad day for Bauke, he has not had a lot of days like this and just unlucky that it was today.  For sure we are not satisfied, we wanted to finish the last WorldTour race well, but the guys fought hard and we regret nothing – this is simply what we have for today.”