Kwiatkowski solos to Strade Bianche victory

Michal Kwiatkowski (Team Sky) was the last man standing at Strade Bianche as the Pole soloed clear in the finale to claim victory in an attritional edition of the Tuscan race.

Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing) led Tim Wellens (Lotto Soudal) home 15 seconds later, but the chasers never looked likely to get on terms with Kwiatkowski once he established a lead of half a minute on the approach to the finish in Siena.

"I'm so happy, it's an unexpected victory," Kwiatkowski said. "After the difficult season I had last year, I still had a lot of trust from the team. Now the preparation for this season has already paid off. A second victory at the Strade Bianche, it's just amazing."

Kwiatkowski was prominent when the decisive selection of the race took shape on the long sector of dirt road at Monte Sante Marie, the so-called Cancellara segment, with more than 50 kilometres still to go, and he remained an aggressive presence at the front thereafter.

He showcased his strength by leading Zdenek Stybar (Quick-Step Floors) over the climb of Monteaperti and then performing the bulk of the pace-setting on the Colle Pinzuto, by which point he had only Stybar, Wellens and Van Avermaet for company.

When Kwiatkowski won this race in 2014, he waited until the final haul into the heart of Siena to make his decisive attack, bludgeoning his way clear of Peter Sagan on that occasion. This time around, he seized his opportunity on a rise with a shade under 15 kilometres remaining, sensing that his three erstwhile breakaway companions might struggle to organise a cohesive chase.

"We started to play a game after the Sante Marie section – I actually didn't feel so good there – but I thought the best situation was to do my own thing, that's why I went from so far out and I'm glad it worked out well," he said.

It was, however, a victory of raw strength as much as it was of cunning. The on-form Van Avermaet, in particular, was generous in his chase efforts, but was unable to make any inroads into Kwiatkowski's advantage, which swelled to 30 seconds as he bounded up the 18 per cent gradient on the final dirt road section at Le Tolfe.

Rain fell steadily for much of the second half of the race, and the dirt roads were often treacherous, even if the peloton was spared the carnage of the famous downpour that washed over the Giro d'Italia stage to Montalcino in 2010. Kwiatkowski made light of the conditions, and safely navigated the final gravel descent to hold a lead of half a minute as he began the climb to Siena.

Kwiatkowski betrayed few obvious signs of weakness in the final kilometre, remaining in the saddle for all but the steepest part of the climb, and steadily tapping out a rhythm that saw him maintain his advantage over the chasers.

Despite Van Avermaet's acceleration on the climb, it was Kwiatkowski himself who made the only real dent in his advantage, as he slowed almost to walking pace to negotiate the final, rain-soaked corners as the road dipped towards the dramatic finish line in Siena's Piazza del Campo. He punched the air as he crossed the finish line, and issued a timely reminder of his qualities as the Classics appear on the horizon.

Van Avermaet won the sprint for second place ahead of Wellens, 15 seconds down, while Stybar came home in fourth. Tom Dumoulin (Sunweb), who was to the fore all day, came across in fifth place after leading the Orica-Scott duo of Luke Durbridge and Christopher Juul Jensen in a forlorn pursuit of the winning move.

Sagan abandons

As ever at Strade Bianche, there was no shortage of attackers hoping to forge clear ahead of the early dirt road sectors, but it wasn't until the third segment at Radi that the day's early break gained a foothold. There was a surprising name among the leaders, too, as Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) joined Jose Goncalves (Katusha-Alpecin), Marco Frapporti (Androni), Truls Engen Korsaeth (Astana), Quentin Jaregui (Ag2r La Mondiale) and Simone Andreetta (Bardiani-CSF) in a group that gained a maximum advantage of five minutes over the peloton.

There was plenty of method to Pinot's madness, as he survived to finish the race in an assured 9th place. A lethal combination of wind, crosswinds and large crash on the sixth dirt road sector at Pieve a Salti splintered the peloton into shards, with Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) and Fabio Aru (Astana) among those caught irretrievably behind, while Gianluca Brambilla (Quick-Step) was forced out by a crash.

World champion Peter Sagan battled for a time to stay in contact with the second part of the peloton, but he climbed off with 70 kilometres remaining. His Bora-Hansgrohe team later explained that he had been ill coming into the race, but had hoped he might be able to be competitive nonetheless.

By that time, Lotto Soudal were leading the charge at the front of the 15-man chasing group, with Sean De Bie burying himself in the service of Wellens and Tiesj Benoot, and they reached the section of dirt road dedicated to Fabian Cancellara just 1:30 down on the leaders.

It was on the uphill section of the Monte Sante Marie that the winning move began to take shape, when Wellens accelerated, bringing Stybar, Kwiatkowski, Van Avermaet, Benoot, Dumoulin, Van Avermaet and Durbridge with him. Scott Thwaites, Edvald Boasson Hagen (Dimension Data), Luis Leon Sanchez (Astana) and Matteo Trentin (Quick-Step) later bridged up to them, and that twelve caught the remnants of the early break with 35 kilometres remaining.

From there, the race became something of a slugging match, with the front group continuously splintering and reforming, but Kwiatkowski, Stybar, Van Avermaet and Wellens seemed always to be on the right side of the splits. There was little surprise when they eventually forged clear ahead of the finale, though Dumoulin may feel he paid a price for his whole-hearted efforts in trying to close earlier gaps.

Kwiatkowski proceeded to single himself out as the man to watch with his demonstration of strength on the Colle Pinzuto, but when he accelerated 15 kilometres from home, nobody could take his wheel, and the race was his.

Full Results

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#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Team Sky4:42:42
2Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team0:00:15
3Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Soudal0:00:17
4Zdenek Štybar (Cze) Quick-Step Floors0:00:23
5Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Sunweb0:01:26
6Luke Durbridge (Aus) Orica-ScottRow 5 - Cell 2
7Christopher Juul Jensen (Den) Orica-Scott0:01:29
8Tiesj Benoot (Bel) Lotto Soudal0:02:20
9Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ0:02:23
10Scott Thwaites (GBr) Dimension Data0:02:52
11José Gonçalves (Por) Katusha-Alpecin0:03:10
12Quentin Jauregui (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale0:04:05
13Fabio Felline (Ita) Trek-SegafredoRow 12 - Cell 2
14Luis León Sanchez (Spa) Astana Pro Team0:04:41
15Stefan Küng (Swi) BMC Racing Team0:05:31
16Vegard Stake Laengen (Nor) Team UAE Emirates0:05:41
17Gianni Moscon (Ita) Team Sky0:05:55
18Ondrej Cink (Cze) Bahrain-Merida0:06:22
19Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Dimension Data0:08:15
20Truls Korsæth (Nor) Astana Pro TeamRow 19 - Cell 2
21Matteo Trentin (Ita) Quick-Step Floors0:08:41
22Oscar Gatto (Ita) Astana Pro Team0:10:13
23Jan Bakelants (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale0:10:15
24Floris De Tier (Bel) Team LottoNl-Jumbo0:10:16
25Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Bahrain-Merida0:10:20
26Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing TeamRow 25 - Cell 2
27Petr Vakoc (Cze) Quick-Step FloorsRow 26 - Cell 2
28Sébastien Reichenbach (Swi) FDJ0:10:21
29Andrey Amador Bikkazakova (CRc) Movistar Team0:10:24
30Andrey Grivko (Ukr) Astana Pro Team0:10:29
31Nathan Haas (Aus) Dimension DataRow 30 - Cell 2
32Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team0:10:30
33Salvatore Puccio (Ita) Team SkyRow 32 - Cell 2
34Julien Vermote (Bel) Quick-Step FloorsRow 33 - Cell 2
35Primož Roglic (Slo) Team LottoNl-Jumbo0:10:36
36Michael Valgren Andersen (Den) Astana Pro Team0:10:41
37Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBr) Team SkyRow 36 - Cell 2
38Moreno Moser (Ita) Astana Pro Team0:10:44
39Nils Politt (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin0:10:49
40Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Trek-Segafredo0:10:51
41Iuri Filosi (Ita) Nippo - Vini FantiniRow 40 - Cell 2
42Hugo Houle (Can) AG2R La Mondiale0:13:37
43Damiano Caruso (Ita) BMC Racing TeamRow 42 - Cell 2
44Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Bahrain-Merida0:13:38
45Maxime Monfort (Bel) Lotto SoudalRow 44 - Cell 2
46Tomasz Marczynski (Pol) Lotto SoudalRow 45 - Cell 2
47Marco Marcato (Ita) Team UAE EmiratesRow 46 - Cell 2
48Mike Teunissen (Ned) Team SunwebRow 47 - Cell 2
49Georg Preidler (Aut) Team SunwebRow 48 - Cell 2
50Matteo Montaguti (Ita) AG2R La MondialeRow 49 - Cell 2
51Nans Peters (Fra) AG2R La MondialeRow 50 - Cell 2
52Enrico Battaglin (Ita) Team LottoNl-JumboRow 51 - Cell 2
53Marcus Burghardt (Ger) Bora-HansgroheRow 52 - Cell 2
54Tiago Machado (Por) Katusha-Alpecin0:13:45
55Marco Canola (Ita) Nippo - Vini Fantini0:13:46
56Christoph Pfingsten (Ger) Bora-HansgroheRow 55 - Cell 2
57Simon Clarke (Aus) Cannondale-DrapacRow 56 - Cell 2
58Richard Antonio Carapaz Montenegro (Ecu) Movistar TeamRow 57 - Cell 2
59Michal Golas (Pol) Team Sky0:13:49
60Gregor Mühlberger (Aut) Bora-HansgroheRow 59 - Cell 2
61Jack Haig (Aus) Orica-ScottRow 60 - Cell 2
62Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) FDJ0:13:51
63Antwan Tolhoek (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo0:13:54
64Rigoberto Uran Uran (Col) Cannondale-DrapacRow 63 - Cell 2
65Mattia Frapporti (Ita) ANS0:13:56
66Daniel Oss (Ita) BMC Racing Team0:14:01
67Jérémy Roy (Fra) FDJ0:14:08
68Sam Bewley (NZl) Orica-Scott0:14:23
69Simone Andreetta (Ita) Bardiani - CSF0:14:38
70Manuel Quinziato (Ita) BMC Racing Team0:18:54
71Jay Mccarthy (Aus) Bora-HansgroheRow 70 - Cell 2
72Fausto Masnada (Ita) Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec0:18:55
73Alex Howes (USA) Cannondale-DrapacRow 72 - Cell 2
74Ivan Garcia Cortina (Spa) Bahrain-MeridaRow 73 - Cell 2
75Toms Skujins (Lat) Cannondale-DrapacRow 74 - Cell 2
76Chad Haga (USA) Team SunwebRow 75 - Cell 2
77Paul Martens (Ger) Team LottoNl-Jumbo0:19:00
78Simone Velasco (Ita) Bardiani - CSF0:22:38
79Kiel Reijnen (USA) Trek-Segafredo0:22:52
80Matej Mohoric (Slo) Team UAE EmiratesRow 79 - Cell 2
81David Per (Slo) Bahrain-MeridaRow 80 - Cell 2
82Ivan Santaromita (Ita) Nippo - Vini FantiniRow 81 - Cell 2
83Diego Rosa (Ita) Team SkyRow 82 - Cell 2
84Cesare Benedetti (Ita) Bora-HansgroheRow 83 - Cell 2
85Markel Irizar Aranburu (Spa) Trek-SegafredoRow 84 - Cell 2
86Jorge Arcas Peña (Spa) Movistar TeamRow 85 - Cell 2
87Ángel Vicioso Arcos (Spa) Katusha-AlpecinRow 86 - Cell 2
88Maxim Belkov (Rus) Katusha-AlpecinRow 87 - Cell 2
89Raffaello Bonusi (Ita) Androni Giocattoli - SidermecRow 88 - Cell 2
DNFGediminas Bagdonas (Ltu) AG2R La MondialeRow 89 - Cell 2
DNFHubert Dupont (Fra) AG2R La MondialeRow 90 - Cell 2
DNFAlexandre Geniez (Fra) AG2R La MondialeRow 91 - Cell 2
DNFMarco Benfatto (Ita) Androni Giocattoli - SidermecRow 92 - Cell 2
DNFDavide Ballerini (Ita) Androni Giocattoli - SidermecRow 93 - Cell 2
DNFLuca Pacioni (Ita) Androni Giocattoli - SidermecRow 94 - Cell 2
DNFIvan Ramiro Sosa Cuervo (Col) Androni Giocattoli - SidermecRow 95 - Cell 2
DNFDmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana Pro TeamRow 96 - Cell 2
DNFManuele Boaro (Ita) Bahrain-MeridaRow 97 - Cell 2
DNFDomen Novak (Slo) Bahrain-MeridaRow 98 - Cell 2
DNFKanstantsin Siutsou (Blr) Bahrain-MeridaRow 99 - Cell 2
DNFNicola Boem (Ita) Bardiani - CSFRow 100 - Cell 2
DNFMirco Maestri (Ita) Bardiani - CSFRow 101 - Cell 2
DNFStefano Pirazzi (Ita) Bardiani - CSFRow 102 - Cell 2
DNFAlessandro Tonelli (Ita) Bardiani - CSFRow 103 - Cell 2
DNFLuca Wackermann (Ita) Bardiani - CSFRow 104 - Cell 2
DNFEdoardo Zardini (Ita) Bardiani - CSFRow 105 - Cell 2
DNFJean-Pierre Drucker (Lux) BMC Racing TeamRow 106 - Cell 2
DNFBen Hermans (Bel) BMC Racing TeamRow 107 - Cell 2
DNFPeter Sagan (Svk) Bora-HansgroheRow 108 - Cell 2
DNFMaciej Bodnar (Pol) Bora-HansgroheRow 109 - Cell 2
DNFPawel Poljanski (Pol) Bora-HansgroheRow 110 - Cell 2
DNFAlberto Bettiol (Ita) Cannondale-DrapacRow 111 - Cell 2
DNFDylan Van Baarle (Ned) Cannondale-DrapacRow 112 - Cell 2
DNFSebastian Langeveld (Ned) Cannondale-DrapacRow 113 - Cell 2
DNFSep Vanmarcke (Bel) Cannondale-DrapacRow 114 - Cell 2
DNFWilliam Bonnet (Fra) FDJRow 115 - Cell 2
DNFTobias Ludvigsson (Swe) FDJRow 116 - Cell 2
DNFSteve Morabito (Swi) FDJRow 117 - Cell 2
DNFAnthony Roux (Fra) FDJRow 118 - Cell 2
DNFSean De Bie (Bel) Lotto SoudalRow 119 - Cell 2
DNFBart De Clercq (Bel) Lotto SoudalRow 120 - Cell 2
DNFNikolas Maes (Bel) Lotto SoudalRow 121 - Cell 2
DNFJurgen Roelandts (Bel) Lotto SoudalRow 122 - Cell 2
DNFCarlos Barbero Cuesta (Spa) Movistar TeamRow 123 - Cell 2
DNFJose Rojas (Spa) Movistar TeamRow 124 - Cell 2
DNFCarlos Alberto Betancur Gomez (Col) Movistar TeamRow 125 - Cell 2
DNFNuno Matos (Por) Movistar TeamRow 126 - Cell 2
DNFAntonio Pedrero Lopez (Spa) Movistar TeamRow 127 - Cell 2
DNFNicola Bagioli (Ita) Nippo - Vini FantiniRow 128 - Cell 2
DNFEduard Michael Grosu (Rom) Nippo - Vini FantiniRow 129 - Cell 2
DNFYuma Koishi (Jpn) Nippo - Vini FantiniRow 130 - Cell 2
DNFAlan Marangoni (Ita) Nippo - Vini FantiniRow 131 - Cell 2
DNFKohei Uchima (Jpn) Nippo - Vini FantiniRow 132 - Cell 2
DNFRoman Kreuziger (Cze) Orica-ScottRow 133 - Cell 2
DNFAlexander Edmonson (Aus) Orica-ScottRow 134 - Cell 2
DNFJens Keukeleire (Bel) Orica-ScottRow 135 - Cell 2
DNFSvein Tuft (Can) Orica-ScottRow 136 - Cell 2
DNFGianluca Brambilla (Ita) Quick-Step FloorsRow 137 - Cell 2
DNFBob Jungels (Lux) Quick-Step FloorsRow 138 - Cell 2
DNFDavide Martinelli (Ita) Quick-Step FloorsRow 139 - Cell 2
DNFMaximiliano Ariel Richeze (Arg) Quick-Step FloorsRow 140 - Cell 2
DNFBernhard Eisel (Aut) Dimension DataRow 141 - Cell 2
DNFMark Renshaw (Aus) Dimension DataRow 142 - Cell 2
DNFDaniel Teklehaimanot (Eri) Dimension DataRow 143 - Cell 2
DNFJay Robert Thomson (RSA) Dimension DataRow 144 - Cell 2
DNFJohann Van Zyl (RSA) Dimension DataRow 145 - Cell 2
DNFMarco Mathis (Ger) Katusha-AlpecinRow 146 - Cell 2
DNFJhonatan Restrepo Valencia (Col) Katusha-AlpecinRow 147 - Cell 2
DNFMads Würtz Schmidt (Den) Katusha-AlpecinRow 148 - Cell 2
DNFBert-Jan Lindeman (Ned) Team LottoNl-JumboRow 149 - Cell 2
DNFJuan Jose Lobato Del Valle (Spa) Team LottoNl-JumboRow 150 - Cell 2
DNFAlexey Vermeulen (USA) Team LottoNl-JumboRow 151 - Cell 2
DNFIan Boswell (USA) Team SkyRow 152 - Cell 2
DNFOwain Doull (GBr) Team SkyRow 153 - Cell 2
DNFWilco Kelderman (Ned) Team SunwebRow 154 - Cell 2
DNFRamon Sinkeldam (Ned) Team SunwebRow 155 - Cell 2
DNFLaurens Ten Dam (Ned) Team SunwebRow 156 - Cell 2
DNFAlbert Timmer (Ned) Team SunwebRow 157 - Cell 2
DNFEugenio Alafaci (Ita) Trek-SegafredoRow 158 - Cell 2
DNFMarco Coledan (Ita) Trek-SegafredoRow 159 - Cell 2
DNFMads Pedersen (Den) Trek-SegafredoRow 160 - Cell 2
DNFBoy van Poppel (Ned) Trek-SegafredoRow 161 - Cell 2
DNFPrzemyslaw Niemiec (Pol) Team UAE EmiratesRow 162 - Cell 2
DNFKristijan Ðurasek (Cro) Team UAE EmiratesRow 163 - Cell 2
DNFSacha Modolo (Ita) Team UAE EmiratesRow 164 - Cell 2
DNFEdward Ravasi (Ita) Team UAE EmiratesRow 165 - Cell 2
DNFOliviero Troia (Ita) Team UAE EmiratesRow 166 - Cell 2

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Barry Ryan
Head of Features

Barry Ryan is Head of Features at Cyclingnews. He has covered professional cycling since 2010, reporting from the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and events from Argentina to Japan. His writing has appeared in The Independent, Procycling and Cycling Plus. He is the author of The Ascent: Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche and the Rise of Irish Cycling’s Golden Generation, published by Gill Books.

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