Tadej Pogacar picks himself up after crash to rule Strade Bianche again
Slovenia's Tadej Pogacar won the men's Strade Bianche on Saturday for the third time in his career, after recovering from a fall 50km from the finish.
Pogacar topped the podium by 1min 24sec ahead of second-placed Briton Tom Pidcock, with Belgium's Tim Wellens a further 48sec adrift. After victory in the Tuscan one-day race in 2022 and 2024, the 26-year-old Pogacar now equals Swiss rider Fabian Cancellara's record of three victories in the race.
'Pretty good race today. The race was super fast. It was a really strong breakaway and our guys did super amazing work in the front,' said Pogacar, who completed the 213km race in 5hr 13min. 'We just went fast and it was a really hard race.'
After falling off his bike at a corner on a descent, Pogacar displayed several cuts to his body with blood notably visible on his left shoulder. 'I enjoyed it until I crossed the finish line. Now I'm in adrenaline wear-off and I start to feel a lot of pain,' he said.
Dutch rider Demi Vollering powered to victory in the women's race, earning her second career victory in the Strade. Vollering completed the 136km circuit around Tuscany in 3hr 49min in front of her compatriot Anna van der Breggen in second, with France's Pauline Ferrand-Prévot a further 1min 24sec behind.
'I'm super happy, I knew I was good beforehand of course and everybody expected it from me before the race already started, but then to do it is another thing,' Vollering told TNT Sports. 'You have so much pressure and you really, really want to finish it off. Not only for yourself, but for your teammates, family, friends, everybody who is behind you.
'To finish it off here, like I did today thanks to the work from all my team-mates, I'm super happy and proud I could do it,' added Vollering, who also won the Strade in 2023.
Vollering, who joined French team FDJ-Suez from SD Worx in the close-season, made her move on the last of the 13 gravel road sections with 12km to go. Only Van der Breggen, who at the age of 34 has resumed her career this season after having been part of the SD Worx management team for three seasons, where she worked with Vollering, managed to go with her but the Dutch rider cracked on the brutal final ascent in Siena.
'It's fun to race against Anna, it feels like the old days just when I started, so it's also a good reminder for myself how much I have grown over the years,' said Vollering. 'It's good to battle it out against her again.'
Paris 2024 Olympic mountain bike gold medallist Ferrand-Prévot is also making her return to road cycling this season. After leading an earlier breakaway, she was eventually reeled in by Vollering and her FDJ-Suez teammates, but held on to claim a place on the podium.
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