Paris (AFP)

Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel won in the Strade Bianche, the first major cycling event of the season, ahead of Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe and Colombian Egan Bernal on Saturday in Siena (Italy).

Van der Poel (Alpecin) released his breakaway companions in the wall of via Santa Caterina (12.4%), a few hundred meters from the finish, to win the Strade Bianche for the first time in his career.

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