The Dutchman wins again
Mathieu van der Poel put on an explosive show at the Strade Bianche. His first move, just a few kilometres from the finish line, was answered only by Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck – Quick-Step) and Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers). However, when Mathieu powered up to the Piazza dal Campo, even the two world-class riders could not match the Dutchman.
“I felt really good today,” van der Poel said. “On the last gravel section (Le Tolfe) I attacked and took Alaphilippe and Bernal with me. I felt that I still had something left in my legs on the final climb. To top it off like this is insane. I noticed that Alaphilippe was getting a bit tired. He also said that his legs were a bit less and therefore skipped a few turns. Bernal, on the other hand, gave a very strong impression. I hope this is the start of a great spring campaign.”
“I did my best, but van der Poel was the strongest,” Alaphilippe admitted. “I don’t regret anything because I didn’t do anything wrong. At 20km from the finish, I still attacked. I wasn’t feeling that bad. I remained focused on the latter sector, but you could already see how strong van der Poel was. On the final climb you could really see how he was going.”
It’s now up to van der Poel’s rivals to answer. Whatever they do, it’s likely to be a great show. This spring is off to a fantastic start!
Strade Bianche 2021 results
1. Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) – 4:40:29
2. Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck – Quick-Step) + 5s
3. Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) + 20s
4. Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) + 51s
5. Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) + 54s
6. Michael Gogl (Qhubeka-Assos)
7. Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates)
8. Simon Clarke (Qhubeka-Assos) + 2:25
9. Jakob Fuglsang (Astana-Premier Tech)
10. Pello Bilbao (Bahrain-Victorious) + 2:39
