Rory Sutherland will race both Il Lombardia and Paris-Tours this weekend; Sutherland, who rides for UAE Team Emirates, will leave Milan late Saturday night for Paris-Tours on Sunday morning to ensure that at least five riders are available for the French race. He will arrive at the starting point.

Sutherland was not expected to complete the 243-km hilly course of Il Lombardia, but he did finish in 104th place, nearly 20 minutes behind winner Bauke Mollema. He would be racing 400 km in two days.

The Australian veteran was selected for both races by UAE Team Emirates due to a lack of fit riders for the final weekend of racing in Europe; UCI rules require teams to field at least five riders, so Sutherland was contacted by Directeur Sportif and accepted the double-up.

Sutherland was not set to be part of UAE Team Emirates in 2020, possibly facing retirement, but he did not complain.

"Sometimes being a motorcycle rider is not all fairies and unicorns. Sometimes you have to fill in the gaps," he tweeted.

"That's the reality. I'm 37 years old, I've been doing this long enough, I know how to make it work, and I just go with it," Sutherland told Cycling News at the start of Il Lombardia with a smile and a shrug.

"At the end of the season, you get sick, tired, and injured. The older, more experienced riders don't complain too much when they're told, 'We need you in another race.'"

"I'm not sure how much of that is due to the fact that I've been in the same situation for so many years."

Sutherland is an experienced domestique: he turned pro with Rabobank in 2006, raced six seasons in the U.S., and returned to Europe in 2013, running for Saxo Tinkoff, Movistar, and UAE Team Emirates. the 2019 season begins in January at the Tour Down Under and will end with 71 races over 10 months. He is trusted to do his job as domestique and intends to do his job to the very end of the final week of the season.

"I want to do my best work at Lombardia and figure out the rest later," he explained, going with the flow.

"I'll be on a plane at 9:00 to Paris. Then we'll head to the start and see what happens in the race."

Would he then finish the year?

"Yes, he will. But if I hear from him again, I'll be ready," Sutherland said.