A bloodied and bruised Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) soared to a stunning third title at Strade Bianche, recovering from a high-speed crash before dropping Tom Pidcock (Q36.5) 19km from the line and riding solo to the Piazza del Campo in Siena.
In a dramatic incident, Pogačar slid out of a corner and crashed heavily with 50 kilometres remaining. But, miraculously, he avoided serious injury and was able to remount before bridging back to the British rider's wheel.
The pair arrived at the penultimate gravel sector of 16, Colle Pinzuto, together when Pogačar delivered the killer blow in the saddle, unaffected by his earlier crash. Pidcock was unable to follow but hung on to take second in Tuscany, 1:23 behind the world champion.
Pogačar's teammate Tim Wellens rode solo to round out the podium in third, after working his way through the groups that formed after his team leader and Pidcock exploded things on the Monte Sante Marie 78km from the finish.
A third title for Pogačar at Strade Bianche draws him level for the equal most with Fabian Cancellara and means he will now have one of the famous sectors of sterrato named after him.
"I enjoyed it until I crossed the finish line. Now the adrenaline has worn off, I'm starting to feel a lot of pain, so it's not the best way to win a race," said Pogačar post-race. "But a win is a win, and let's hope it's nothing worse than it looks and all should be fine.
"I went too fast, I guess," he said, explaining the crash, "I know this race very well, I've ridden it like 20 times already now in my life, but sometimes you misjudge and I don't know, I just slipped and shit happens.
"For a moment, I didn't know if I was OK, and the bike was not working, so I had to change it. I was a bit worried because when you crash, the body takes a lot from you. But I still had enough to finish it off."
How it unfolded
Great weather in Siena welcomed the 174 riders at the start of the men's race, with one non-starter in Matej Mohoric (Bahrain Victorious) due to illness. There was a more difficult 213km route to contend with and 16 sectors, 82km of white gravel roads on the menu in Tuscany.
Quickly, a breakaway was established on the first sector, Vidritta, with a strong 10-rider group getting up the road, Johan Price-Pejtersen (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Stan Dewulf (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), Lewis Askey (Groupama-FDJ), Connor Swift (Ineos Grenadiers), Simone Petilli (Intermarché-Wanty), Albert Withen Philipsen (Lidl-Trek), Mark Donovan (Q36.5), Pepijn Reinderink (Soudal-QuickStep), Anders Foldager (Jayco AlUla) and Fabian Weiss (Tudor).
The gap went out to five minutes as the crashes began to come thick and fast for the likes of David Gaudu (Groupama-FDJ) and Diego Ulissi (XDS-Astana). The gravel roads may have looked idyllic, but they were already taking victims.
With UAE Team Emirates-XRG beginning to ramp things up behind for Pogačar, those in the breakaway sensed the danger and started to attack each other. Donovan and Reinderink sparked an acceleration which reduced it down to just six riders in front with 121km to go, with Askey, Swift, Foldager and Weiss also following.
With the crucial Monte Sante Marie sector approaching, where Pogačar launched his explosive 81km solo attack last year, Florian Vermeersch, Tim Wellens and Isaac del Toro positioned the rainbow bands, preparing for blast-off.
Pidcock moved onto the wheel of Wellens and moved first when the Belgian was finished doing his pull, with Pogačar snapping alongside him and trying to launch a counter.
The Olympic MTB champion was able to follow the Slovenian's powerful surge, and on the downhill roads of the Monte Sante Marie, a lead trio formed as former British national gravel champ Swift got back to the star duo after being dropped by them on the climb.
Racing calmed in the middle phase after the gaps had been made, with several small chase groups working away at the deficit over one minute down on the lead trio.
However, the race suddenly exploded into life with 49km remaining when Pogačar crashed at high speed, sliding out of a gravel corner and rolling off the road into the grass. His left shoulder, elbow, knee and shin were cut, and his world champion's kit shredded, but with the adrenaline pumping, Pogačar was quickly back onto his bike and chasing.
Swift's race came undone after following Pogačar into the ditch, albeit without crashing, and he was left behind as the world champion worked to get back to Pidcock. The Q36.5 rider actually slowed down and waited for his rival ahead of the key gravel sectors.
Needing some time to recover, Pogačar and Pidcock's duel for victory didn't begin on the first lap over the Colle Pinzuto and Le Tolfe gravel climbs but instead came inside the final 20km.
Pogačar took over the front position ahead of the Colle Pinzuto and started to put the power down in the saddle. Pidcock tried to respond, but the gap grew from one metre to five metres and soon 20 metres quickly on the gravel.
With the gap exploding past the one-minute mark, Pidcock settled into his own rhythm and began to accept that second place was the best result he could score today. He would survive a late chase from Wellens, who attacked out of the leading chase group to take third in Siena.
Pogačar kept the pressure on as he rode for his third title in Tuscany, despite his visible injuries, and he was able to celebrate after completing his way up the Via Santa Catarina. With his third title, he also becomes the first rider to win Strade Bianche and the first men's world champion to win the Italian one-day Classic."
Results
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