Kwiatkowski solos to Strade Bianche victory
Van Avermaet beats Wellens to second place
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.
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Michal Kwiatkowski's Strade Bianche Pinarello Dogma F10 - Gallery
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
# | Rider Name (Country) Team | Result |
---|---|---|
1 | Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Team Sky | 4:42:42 |
2 | Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team | 0:00:15 |
3 | Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Soudal | 0:00:17 |
4 | Zdenek Štybar (Cze) Quick-Step Floors | 0:00:23 |
5 | Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Sunweb | 0:01:26 |
6 | Luke Durbridge (Aus) Orica-Scott | |
7 | Christopher Juul Jensen (Den) Orica-Scott | 0:01:29 |
8 | Tiesj Benoot (Bel) Lotto Soudal | 0:02:20 |
9 | Thibaut Pinot (Fra) FDJ | 0:02:23 |
10 | Scott Thwaites (GBr) Dimension Data | 0:02:52 |
11 | José Gonçalves (Por) Katusha-Alpecin | 0:03:10 |
12 | Quentin Jauregui (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:04:05 |
13 | Fabio Felline (Ita) Trek-Segafredo | |
14 | Luis León Sanchez (Spa) Astana Pro Team | 0:04:41 |
15 | Stefan Küng (Swi) BMC Racing Team | 0:05:31 |
16 | Vegard Stake Laengen (Nor) Team UAE Emirates | 0:05:41 |
17 | Gianni Moscon (Ita) Team Sky | 0:05:55 |
18 | Ondrej Cink (Cze) Bahrain-Merida | 0:06:22 |
19 | Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) Dimension Data | 0:08:15 |
20 | Truls Korsæth (Nor) Astana Pro Team | |
21 | Matteo Trentin (Ita) Quick-Step Floors | 0:08:41 |
22 | Oscar Gatto (Ita) Astana Pro Team | 0:10:13 |
23 | Jan Bakelants (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:10:15 |
24 | Floris De Tier (Bel) Team LottoNl-Jumbo | 0:10:16 |
25 | Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Bahrain-Merida | 0:10:20 |
26 | Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team | |
27 | Petr Vakoc (Cze) Quick-Step Floors | |
28 | Sébastien Reichenbach (Swi) FDJ | 0:10:21 |
29 | Andrey Amador Bikkazakova (CRc) Movistar Team | 0:10:24 |
30 | Andrey Grivko (Ukr) Astana Pro Team | 0:10:29 |
31 | Nathan Haas (Aus) Dimension Data | |
32 | Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team | 0:10:30 |
33 | Salvatore Puccio (Ita) Team Sky | |
34 | Julien Vermote (Bel) Quick-Step Floors | |
35 | Primož Roglic (Slo) Team LottoNl-Jumbo | 0:10:36 |
36 | Michael Valgren Andersen (Den) Astana Pro Team | 0:10:41 |
37 | Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBr) Team Sky | |
38 | Moreno Moser (Ita) Astana Pro Team | 0:10:44 |
39 | Nils Politt (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin | 0:10:49 |
40 | Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Trek-Segafredo | 0:10:51 |
41 | Iuri Filosi (Ita) Nippo - Vini Fantini | |
42 | Hugo Houle (Can) AG2R La Mondiale | 0:13:37 |
43 | Damiano Caruso (Ita) BMC Racing Team | |
44 | Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Bahrain-Merida | 0:13:38 |
45 | Maxime Monfort (Bel) Lotto Soudal | |
46 | Tomasz Marczynski (Pol) Lotto Soudal | |
47 | Marco Marcato (Ita) Team UAE Emirates | |
48 | Mike Teunissen (Ned) Team Sunweb | |
49 | Georg Preidler (Aut) Team Sunweb | |
50 | Matteo Montaguti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale | |
51 | Nans Peters (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
52 | Enrico Battaglin (Ita) Team LottoNl-Jumbo | |
53 | Marcus Burghardt (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe | |
54 | Tiago Machado (Por) Katusha-Alpecin | 0:13:45 |
55 | Marco Canola (Ita) Nippo - Vini Fantini | 0:13:46 |
56 | Christoph Pfingsten (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe | |
57 | Simon Clarke (Aus) Cannondale-Drapac | |
58 | Richard Antonio Carapaz Montenegro (Ecu) Movistar Team | |
59 | Michal Golas (Pol) Team Sky | 0:13:49 |
60 | Gregor Mühlberger (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe | |
61 | Jack Haig (Aus) Orica-Scott | |
62 | Matthieu Ladagnous (Fra) FDJ | 0:13:51 |
63 | Antwan Tolhoek (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo | 0:13:54 |
64 | Rigoberto Uran Uran (Col) Cannondale-Drapac | |
65 | Mattia Frapporti (Ita) ANS | 0:13:56 |
66 | Daniel Oss (Ita) BMC Racing Team | 0:14:01 |
67 | Jérémy Roy (Fra) FDJ | 0:14:08 |
68 | Sam Bewley (NZl) Orica-Scott | 0:14:23 |
69 | Simone Andreetta (Ita) Bardiani - CSF | 0:14:38 |
70 | Manuel Quinziato (Ita) BMC Racing Team | 0:18:54 |
71 | Jay Mccarthy (Aus) Bora-Hansgrohe | |
72 | Fausto Masnada (Ita) Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec | 0:18:55 |
73 | Alex Howes (USA) Cannondale-Drapac | |
74 | Ivan Garcia Cortina (Spa) Bahrain-Merida | |
75 | Toms Skujins (Lat) Cannondale-Drapac | |
76 | Chad Haga (USA) Team Sunweb | |
77 | Paul Martens (Ger) Team LottoNl-Jumbo | 0:19:00 |
78 | Simone Velasco (Ita) Bardiani - CSF | 0:22:38 |
79 | Kiel Reijnen (USA) Trek-Segafredo | 0:22:52 |
80 | Matej Mohoric (Slo) Team UAE Emirates | |
81 | David Per (Slo) Bahrain-Merida | |
82 | Ivan Santaromita (Ita) Nippo - Vini Fantini | |
83 | Diego Rosa (Ita) Team Sky | |
84 | Cesare Benedetti (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe | |
85 | Markel Irizar Aranburu (Spa) Trek-Segafredo | |
86 | Jorge Arcas Peña (Spa) Movistar Team | |
87 | Ángel Vicioso Arcos (Spa) Katusha-Alpecin | |
88 | Maxim Belkov (Rus) Katusha-Alpecin | |
89 | Raffaello Bonusi (Ita) Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec | |
DNF | Gediminas Bagdonas (Ltu) AG2R La Mondiale | |
DNF | Hubert Dupont (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
DNF | Alexandre Geniez (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale | |
DNF | Marco Benfatto (Ita) Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec | |
DNF | Davide Ballerini (Ita) Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec | |
DNF | Luca Pacioni (Ita) Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec | |
DNF | Ivan Ramiro Sosa Cuervo (Col) Androni Giocattoli - Sidermec | |
DNF | Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team | |
DNF | Manuele Boaro (Ita) Bahrain-Merida | |
DNF | Domen Novak (Slo) Bahrain-Merida | |
DNF | Kanstantsin Siutsou (Blr) Bahrain-Merida | |
DNF | Nicola Boem (Ita) Bardiani - CSF | |
DNF | Mirco Maestri (Ita) Bardiani - CSF | |
DNF | Stefano Pirazzi (Ita) Bardiani - CSF | |
DNF | Alessandro Tonelli (Ita) Bardiani - CSF | |
DNF | Luca Wackermann (Ita) Bardiani - CSF | |
DNF | Edoardo Zardini (Ita) Bardiani - CSF | |
DNF | Jean-Pierre Drucker (Lux) BMC Racing Team | |
DNF | Ben Hermans (Bel) BMC Racing Team | |
DNF | Peter Sagan (Svk) Bora-Hansgrohe | |
DNF | Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe | |
DNF | Pawel Poljanski (Pol) Bora-Hansgrohe | |
DNF | Alberto Bettiol (Ita) Cannondale-Drapac | |
DNF | Dylan Van Baarle (Ned) Cannondale-Drapac | |
DNF | Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) Cannondale-Drapac | |
DNF | Sep Vanmarcke (Bel) Cannondale-Drapac | |
DNF | William Bonnet (Fra) FDJ | |
DNF | Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) FDJ | |
DNF | Steve Morabito (Swi) FDJ | |
DNF | Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ | |
DNF | Sean De Bie (Bel) Lotto Soudal | |
DNF | Bart De Clercq (Bel) Lotto Soudal | |
DNF | Nikolas Maes (Bel) Lotto Soudal | |
DNF | Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Lotto Soudal | |
DNF | Carlos Barbero Cuesta (Spa) Movistar Team | |
DNF | Jose Rojas (Spa) Movistar Team | |
DNF | Carlos Alberto Betancur Gomez (Col) Movistar Team | |
DNF | Nuno Matos (Por) Movistar Team | |
DNF | Antonio Pedrero Lopez (Spa) Movistar Team | |
DNF | Nicola Bagioli (Ita) Nippo - Vini Fantini | |
DNF | Eduard Michael Grosu (Rom) Nippo - Vini Fantini | |
DNF | Yuma Koishi (Jpn) Nippo - Vini Fantini | |
DNF | Alan Marangoni (Ita) Nippo - Vini Fantini | |
DNF | Kohei Uchima (Jpn) Nippo - Vini Fantini | |
DNF | Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Orica-Scott | |
DNF | Alexander Edmonson (Aus) Orica-Scott | |
DNF | Jens Keukeleire (Bel) Orica-Scott | |
DNF | Svein Tuft (Can) Orica-Scott | |
DNF | Gianluca Brambilla (Ita) Quick-Step Floors | |
DNF | Bob Jungels (Lux) Quick-Step Floors | |
DNF | Davide Martinelli (Ita) Quick-Step Floors | |
DNF | Maximiliano Ariel Richeze (Arg) Quick-Step Floors | |
DNF | Bernhard Eisel (Aut) Dimension Data | |
DNF | Mark Renshaw (Aus) Dimension Data | |
DNF | Daniel Teklehaimanot (Eri) Dimension Data | |
DNF | Jay Robert Thomson (RSA) Dimension Data | |
DNF | Johann Van Zyl (RSA) Dimension Data | |
DNF | Marco Mathis (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin | |
DNF | Jhonatan Restrepo Valencia (Col) Katusha-Alpecin | |
DNF | Mads Würtz Schmidt (Den) Katusha-Alpecin | |
DNF | Bert-Jan Lindeman (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo | |
DNF | Juan Jose Lobato Del Valle (Spa) Team LottoNl-Jumbo | |
DNF | Alexey Vermeulen (USA) Team LottoNl-Jumbo | |
DNF | Ian Boswell (USA) Team Sky | |
DNF | Owain Doull (GBr) Team Sky | |
DNF | Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Team Sunweb | |
DNF | Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Team Sunweb | |
DNF | Laurens Ten Dam (Ned) Team Sunweb | |
DNF | Albert Timmer (Ned) Team Sunweb | |
DNF | Eugenio Alafaci (Ita) Trek-Segafredo | |
DNF | Marco Coledan (Ita) Trek-Segafredo | |
DNF | Mads Pedersen (Den) Trek-Segafredo | |
DNF | Boy van Poppel (Ned) Trek-Segafredo | |
DNF | Przemyslaw Niemiec (Pol) Team UAE Emirates | |
DNF | Kristijan Ðurasek (Cro) Team UAE Emirates | |
DNF | Sacha Modolo (Ita) Team UAE Emirates | |
DNF | Edward Ravasi (Ita) Team UAE Emirates | |
DNF | Oliviero Troia (Ita) Team UAE Emirates |

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