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Strade Bianche 2023: Superb Tom Pidcock creates history as first British male winner of Tuscan classic
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Published 04/03/2023 at 16:26 GMT
Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) became the first male British rider in history to win on the white roads of Tuscany with a magnificent solo victory in Strade Bianche on Saturday. The 23-year-old all-rounder kicked clear inside the final 50km of an exciting race and never looked back as a stellar chase group behind failed to gel on the approach to Siena.
Tom Pidcock celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the 17th one-day classic Strade Bianche, Siena, Tuscany, on March 4, 2023
Image credit: Getty Images
If ever there was a road race perfectly suited to the strengths of an Olympic mountain-bike gold medallist and former cyclo-cross world champion, it’s one that includes 63 kilometres of Tuscan gravel. And Britain’s Tom Pidcock added the race dubbed the “Sixth Monument” to his swelling palmares on Saturday with a fantastic solo raid over the famous white roads to win Strade Bianche with a brutal display of uphill prowess, downhill dexterity, courage and confidence.
Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) responded to a series of attacks on the key Monte Sante Marie section of gravel with around 50km remaining of the 184km race before zipping clear of his adversaries on a fast and technical downhill section.
After sweeping past the remnants of the day’s three-man breakaway, Pidcock soloed towards his second win of the season despite a stellar chase group closing the gap to just seven seconds on the outskirts of Siena.
But Pidcock kept his calm while his increasingly desperate chasers started looking at each other, last year’s conqueror of Alpe d’Huez hitting the double-digit gradient of the via Santa Caterina with the luxury of a 30-second cushion to play with amid the roaring sea of spectators lining the road.
Pidcock crossed the finish line in the historic Piazza del Campo to take an emphatic victory by 20 seconds over Frenchman Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ). A somewhat forlorn Tiesj Benoot (Jumbo-Visma) of Belgium completed the podium ahead of Portuguese veteran Rui Costa (Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert), Hungarian champion Attila Valter (Jumbo-Visma), and the Slovenian Matej Mohoric (Bahrain-Victorious).
"Honestly, it's going to take some sinking in,” a jubilant Pidcock said after his latest triumph. “When I went, that was completely not the plan. Obviously, that sector is often the decisive place. But I was just riding hard. I got a gap so I carried on.
“This week I had a feeling that something good would happen - I knew that today would be my day, but that it actually paid off is incredible. A few times the chasers came close and I thought I had messed it up, gone too early, wasted my one shot. But I also know how hard it is to bring back a gap in races like this."
Under sunny skies in Tuscany, the 17th edition of Strade Bianche kicked off without two former champions in Wout van Aert and Tadej Pogacar. In the event, however, Pidcock took a leaf out of Pogacar’s book by putting in his decisive attack in almost the exact same point as the Slovenian 12 months earlier.
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'I knew today was my day!' - Pidcock basks in Strade Bianche glory
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After home favourite Alberto Bettiol (EF Education-EasyPost) made the first move on the key Monte Sante Marie section of gravel, Pidcock was first to react, alongside Italy's Andrea Bagioli (Soudal-QuickStep), before zipping clear just inside the final 50km.
Pidcock soon passed the fading Spanish escapee Ivan Romeo (Movistar) before joining forces with Italy’s Alessandro De Marchi (Team Jayco-AlUla) and Norway’s Sven Erik Bystrom (Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert) out ahead. When they inevitably dropped back, Pidcock went clear - oblivious to the drama playing out in his wake.
A nasty crash ended Bettiol’s chances after the 2021 champion Mathieu van der Poel – making his first appearance of the season for Alpecin-Fenix - tested his legs behind. The Dutchman soon hit the wall in the heart of the Crete Senesi region of Tuscany as a strong 10-man chase group formed in pursuit of Pidcock.
Van der Poel dug deep in a second chase group before sitting up and rejoining the remnants of a main field that also included the 2019 winner Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal-QuickStep) of France.
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'This race is out of control!' - Gilbert reacts to dramatic crashes and attacks
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So strong on Opening Weekend - with back-to-back victories for Dylan van Baarle at Omloop and Benoot at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne - Jumbo-Visma were unable to exploit their numerical advantage, with Valter at one point dragging the other chasers back into the fold after Benoot had gone clear on the Colle Pinzuto section inside the final 20km.
Benoot was left exasperated by his new team-mate’s tactics, the Belgian gesticulating widely as Valter brought back the likes of Mohoric, Madouas and Costa after the American Quinn Simmons (Trek-Segafredo) lost touch alongside Spain's Pello Bilbao (Bahrain-Victorious) and Italy's Davide Formolo (UAE Team Emirates).
And despite the five pursuers coming within touching distance of Pidcock on the outskirts of Siena, their mind games and collective indecision allowed their quarry to stretch out his lead again ahead of the famous ramped climb into the centre of the city.
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SIENA, ITALY - MARCH 04: Thomas Pidcock of The United Kingdom and Team INEOS Grenadiers competes in the breakaway during the Eroica - 17th Strade Bianche 2023, Men's Elite a 184km one day race from Siena to Siena 318m / #StradeBianche / on March 04, 2023
Image credit: Getty Images
Pidcock was able to appreciate the feverish chants of the fans as he danced up the 16% flagstones of the via Santa Caterina before swinging into the Piazza del Campo to add the latest notch to his road cycling bedpost. Fifth in his only previous appearance in Strade Bianche - the year Van der Poel took the spoils in 2021 - Pidcock became the first British man to win on the white roads of Tuscany, and did so in some style.
Jumbo-Visma, however, were left to lick their wounds with the in-form Benoot - beaten to second place by Madouas - wondering what may have been had his team-mate Valter not inadvertently neutralised his move inside the final 20km.
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'Played it perfectly!' - Pidcock creates history as first British male winner at Strade Bianche
Video credit: TNT Sports
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