Movistar's Alejandro Valverde is determined to add a fifth and final monument of the year to his collection this Saturday when he rides in Il Lombardia in Bergamo.

The Italian one-day classic is one of the races the 39-year-old Spaniard has had difficulty winning in his long career, although in 2013 he finished second behind compatriot Joaquin Rodriguez and in 2014 he was beaten by Irish rider Dan Martin, He would have been encouraged by his second-place finish behind EF Education First's Michael Woods in Wednesday's Milano Torino.

"Fifth place, second twice ......" Valverde spoke on the Movistar team website about his second places in Milan-Torino and Sunday's Bruno Begueri GP, and his fifth place in Saturday's Giro delle Miglia. He said, "These tests before Lombardia seem to be a good sign and these results will help us to reach a really good fitness level for Saturday.

"Lombardia is still a race out of my hands. Primoš Roglic will not lose this race."

He said.

Jumbo-Visma's Roglic has won both the Tre Valli Varesine and the Giro delle Miglia and is one of the favorites to win Lombardia, along with two-time winner Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida).

Nibali, Woods, and Valverde were among the lead group that lost its way with about 15 km to go in Tuesday's Tre Valli Varesine.

"We weren't really lucky with the accident in Tre Valli," Valverde said. 'Everyone [on TV] followed the bike.' Valverde said, "Everyone just followed the (TV) bike. I realized it wasn't the right direction, but I saw that everyone was going in that direction and I wasn't going to turn right and cause a crash," he said.

"Today was a completely different race and the weather was different. I rode the first 100 km in the cold rain, so my legs were not in particularly good shape. They were a little swollen from the humidity, but I was able to keep the pace up until the end."

"Hats off to Woods for the win," Valverde said. I also want to thank my teammates. I also want to thank my teammates, who always had me covered right up until the last climb.

"Of course I wanted to finish this and win, but I have to be happy with this second place. I may not have had the confidence to keep up with Woods' acceleration before the final straight, but I am happy with this podium.