Tadei Pogachar will be looking for his second consecutive Il Lombardia win as he closes out the 2022 road season at the Italian One-Day Classic in early October.

UAE Team Emirates has named the Slovenian as team leader for Saturday's Giro delle Miglia and will head to Il Lombardia on Saturday, October 8.

Last year, Pogachar won Il Lombardia with a powerful solo attack, becoming the first rider since Eddy Merckx to win the Liège-Bastogne-Liège, Tour de France, and Italian classic races in the same season.

This year Pogacar had a very successful spring campaign, but finished second in the Tour de France. He has just returned from the World Championships in Australia and will arrive in Bologna on Saturday for the hilltop finish at the Giro delle Miglia.

"Last year was the first time I ran a block race in Italy. Winning in Lombardia was a fitting end to the season and I hope to repeat it," Pogachar said in a statement released by UAE Team Emirates. [The Giro delle Miglia is a hard circuit race and an exciting one for the fans. We have been taking it easy since returning from Australia and we want to see how our form is going to be on Saturday. I am looking forward to a good preparation for Lombardia.

Before heading to Australia, Pogachar won the Grand Prix Cycliste de Montréal with a strong ride and uphill sprint. He finished 6th in the time trial and 19th in the road race after an attack by Remco Evenpole.

The new world champion will not race in Italy, as he will unveil his rainbow jersey at Monday's Binche-Chimay-Binche, but Pogachar will compete in the Giro delle Miglia against Alexandre Vlasov (Bora-Hansgrohe), Vincenzo Nibali (Astana- Kazakstan), David Gaudou (Groupama-FDJ), Julien Alaphilippe (Quick Step-Alfa Vinyl), and Simon Yates (Bike Exchange-Jayco). Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) will be Il Lombardia's rival after competing in the Cro race in Croatia this week.

Pogachar will be supported in the Giro delle Miglia by George Bennett, Alessandro Covi, Davide Formolo, Marc Hirschi, Rafal Majka, and Diego Ulissi.

UAE Team Emirates will also compete in the Coppa Agostoni on Thursday north of Milan. Hirschi is back in form after a series of injuries and recently won the Giro della Toscana.