Vincenzo Nibali's bid for a third Il Lombardia win came to an end when he was separated on the lower slope of the Civiglio.

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport (opens in new tab), "Like Van der Pol, the lights went out," Nibali said.

"The season that saw me finish second overall in the Giro d'Italia and win a stage in the Tour de France has finally come to an end."

[8 After finishing second overall in the Giro d'Italia and winning a stage in the Tour de France, Nibali said, "I wanted to finish the race because I know that for better or worse, the public is always waiting for me."

Just before Nibali fell in Civiglio, his wheel hit the wrong bidon and he had to brace himself on the pavement before restarting. However, Nibali, a native of Sicily, refused to cite this as a mitigating factor for his failure on the final climb behind Mollema, Primosz Roglic, and others.

"I bumped into Bidon, who slipped out of the hands of another racer. I inadvertently bumped into a player in the lot, and I went close to the sidewalk," Nibali explained. 'Then I had a cramp, but there's no excuse. But there's no excuse.

Il Lombardia was Nibali's last race for Bahrain-Merida, where he had been for three years. The 34-year-old will move to Trek-Segafredo in 2020 to compete alongside Morema, Richie Porte, and newly crowned world champion Mads Pedersen.

The 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the World Championships in Switzerland are Nibali's goals for next season, but the rest of his program will only be sketched out this winter. His first rendezvous with Trek will be a team meeting in Wisconsin in late October, followed by a training camp in his native Sicily in December.

According to La Gazzetta, Nibali has already ruled out an early start to 2020 at the Tour Down Under and Vuelta a San Juan in January. Given Nibali's desire to win Olympic gold, his Grand Tour GC ambitions will likely center on the Giro d'Italia rather than the 2020 Tour de France.

The 2020 Tour route will be announced in Paris on Tuesday, while the Giro d'Italia route will be announced in Milan on October 24.