Tom Pidcock produces spectacular long-range triumph in Strade Bianche

Tom Pidcock trusted his hunch and produced a special performance on the roads of Tuscany to become the first British man to win Strade Bianche, bursting away from the peloton with around 50km to go and crossing the line alone in Siena.

Sensing an opportunity on the descent out of Montalcino, the Yorkshireman went in pursuit of the early breakaway to blow up the race, leaving an off-colour Mathieu van der Poel in his wake. Making up a deficit of more than two minutes, Pidcock went over the top of the three early leaders before showing incredible legs to hold off an elite group of chasers, including Jumbo-Visma’s Tiesj Benoot, in the final stages.

“When I went, that was not the plan, I was just riding hard, I got a gap on the descent and just carried on,” said Pidcock post-race. “Honestly this week I had a good feeling, I knew something good was going to happen today. I kind of knew today was my day and that it actually paid off is pretty incredible.”

From the original breakaway group, Jayco–AlUla’s Alessandro De Marchi hung with the Ineos Grenadiers rider until around 23km to go, when Pidcock again used his prowess on the gravel to attack.

Behind him a strong group had formed to chase down the solo leader, but a mix of poor tactics – most notably from Benoot and his teammate, Attila Valter – and a failure to work together meant the closest they got to Pidcock inside the last 10km was seven seconds. Ultimately, that squabbling, and the 23-year-old Briton’s ability on the descents, meant that he crossed the line in Siena’s famous Piazza del Campo with an advantage of 30 seconds.

“A few times they came close and I thought, ‘Oh I’ve messed it up, I’ve gone too early, I’ve wasted my shot’, but the thing is, in races like this,