COMO, Italy — Damiano Cunego won the Giro di Lombardia for the third time today after breaking away from a group of riders with 10 miles left.

Cunego, an Italian who rides for the Lampre team, covered the 150-mile route from Varese to Como in 5 hours, 37 minutes, 4 seconds.

Janez Brajkovic finished 24 seconds behind in second place while Rigoberto Uran was third with the same time.

After winning several races at the beginning of the season, including the Amstel Gold Race in April, Cunego had a disappointing performance in the Tour de France. But he returned to form for the end of the cycling season and finished second in last month's road race world championship behind fellow Italian and Lampre teammate Alessandro Ballan. That result made Cunego the heavy favorite in the Giro di Lombardia, which he won last year and in 2004 in sprint finishes.

In Saturday's race, Ballan worked for Cunego by attacking on a steep climb near the finish to tire out Cunego's competitors for the final victory.