Thomas Pidcock (INEOS) became the first British rider to win the Strade Bianche today, with Rui Costa (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty) fourth, achieving the best ever finish by a Portuguese rider at the iconic Italian classic.
The Olympic XCO champion attacked about 50 kilometers from the end of the 184 kilometer round trip from Siena and prevailed in 04:31.41 hours, the French Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ), second, 20 seconds behind, and the Belgian Tiesj Benoot (Jumbo-Visma), third, on the 22nd.
“It’s going to take time for me to realize what this victory was, it’s incredible. When I left the group, even though that was not the plan, I realized that I opened up a space and left. Honestly, this week I had a good feeling that today could be my day,” said the 23-year-old Briton.
Rui Costa, who was fourth at 23 seconds, today extends the streak of good results this season, in which he already won the general in the Volta à Comunidade Valenciana and the Calvià Trophy, by achieving the best Portuguese result in the Italian race which is considered the sixth ‘Monument’.
The Portuguese was part of a group of five chasing, who were 15 seconds behind Pidcock, but the lack of understanding ended up ruining any chance of catching the British.
Nelson Oliveira (Movistar) finished the race in 35th position, 2.10 minutes behind Pidcock, while André Carvalho (Cofidis) was 112th, at 18:25.
Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal-QuickStep) and Dutchman Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) were two of the disappointments of the race, falling out of contention for victory early.
Source: TSF
