Strade Bianche has quickly gained a reputation as one of the most visually striking races on the calendar, and the 2018 edition only enhanced that legacy as the wet weather turned the famous gravel roads into sloppy mud tracks.
Tiesj Benoot (Lotto Soudal) was caked in mud as he crossed the line in Siena's Piazza del Campo for a spectacular solo win - the first of his career. Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale) came across the line for a surprise second place, 39 seconds later, while cyclo-cross world champion Wout van Aert (Veranda's Willems Crelan) claimed third.
As well as mud, there there was exhaustion etched on the faces of all those behind him at the end of a gruelling day in the rolling Italian region of Tuscany.
You can watch how it all played out in the highlights video above.
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