Clouds of dust, treacherous potholes, dirt slides through the Tuscan meadows, and cobblestone climb to Siena's Renaissance Piazza del Campo.
The Strade Bianche is for the gifted, for the daring without complexes, like
Mathieu van der Poel
, who today prevailed in an Italian event that has already established himself among the most tremendous classics.
The Dutchman beat Frenchman
Julian Alaphilippe
and Colombian
Egan Bernal
, his fugitive companions.
Raymond Poulidor's
grandson
made his debut in this classic and dethroned Belgian
Wout van Aert
, who gave up with 12 kilometers to go.
The best Spanish was
Pello Bilbao
, tenth
The uncomfortable 'sterrato' that characterizes this event selected a career that started with a broad and distinguished panel of candidates, including experts
Alejandro Valverde
,
Michael Woods
,
Tim Wellens
,
Greg Van Avermaet
and
Michal Kwiatkowski
.
All of them were eliminated in the absence of 50 kilometers, in the ravines of Sainte-Marie, when Van Aert and Alaphilippe broke the main group.
Both started in the dangerous descents of the ravines of the eighth of the 11 dirt sectors interspersed in the 184 kilometers of route and after them Van der Poel,
Geniets
,
Pidcock
,
Bernal
,
Gogl
,
Simmons
and
Pogacar were hooked
.
Difficult to improve the list of favorites, with a world champion, two winners of the Tour del France and the absolute dominators in cyclocross.
CLAUDICA POGACAR
The French attacked in the absence of 22 kilometers and put the Belgian in trouble.
The play was topped by the Netherlands' clasicomano at 12 kilometers, his action was only answered by Alaphilippe and Bernal.
With Van Aert and Pogacar out of action, VDP set a strong pace and with 500 meters to go, on the climb to the Piazza del Campo in Siena, they eliminated the Frenchman, who throughout the day exhibited
absolute control
of the race.
He only failed at the end, in the decisive section, where the prodigious Dutchman imposed that strength that already distinguishes him as a phenomenon of world cycling.
VDP inscribes its name in an Italian race that conquers the public because it offers options not only to classicists, but also to specialists in great rounds and adventurers.
It engages because it treasures the hardness and
contradictory nuances of the
most emblematic
classics
.
The Paris-Roubaix, after an infernal journey through a field strewn with cobblestones, ends at a wooden velodrome.
La Strade Bianche, after a harrowing excursion through dirt tracks, ends in a climb with a stone pavement in the urban center of Siena.
A spectacular tour to showcase Van der Poel.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
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