Bernal third in Strade thriller

06 Mar 2021

Bernal third in Strade thriller

Strade Bianche: Siena › Siena (184km)

Egan Bernal finished third at Strade Bianche after a tremendous battle on the white roads of Tuscany as Mathieu van der Poel powered to victory.

Bernal was part of an elite trio containing Van der Poel and Julian Alaphilippe heading into the final kilometre but was unable to match the attacks on the climatic Via Santa Caterina climb into the Piazza del Campo.

Tom Pidcock was part of the first chase group, having been with the leaders until the last 10 kilometres, fighting to an impressive fifth on his Strade debut.  
Egan Bernal

Egan Bernal

"It’s really motivating for me to be here on this podium, I’m trying to have some more confidence in myself again, just trying to enjoy the races."
Earlier, Pidcock had suffered misfortune when he punctured shortly before the pace picked up in the peloton. Salvatore Puccio gave him a wheel, allowing Pidcock to re-join a dwindling bunch.

The attacks began in earnest in the final 90 minutes of the race, with Owain Doull picking an opportune moment to join a large group which eased the pressure on his teammates behind. 

After this group was caught, the decisive move then came when Alaphilippe attacked on the Monte Sante Marie, with Bernal and Pidcock joining the world champion with five other escapees. 

This elite group of seven quickly gained an unassailable advantage, only reducing in size as Pidcock was briefly distanced on the Monteaperti climb, but he put in a gritty ride to re-join the break with Wout van Aert.

Finally, Van der Poel attacked on the final gravel sector with only Bernal and Alaphilippe able to respond, the trio staying away and setting up a grandstand finish in Siena. 
Reaction

Egan Bernal

“I was a bit surprised as I am not a specialist in one day races and to be on the podium with Mathieu and the world champion is a big honour for me. I really am surprised, but now I am really motivated for the next goal. 

“We tried just to keep going with [the front group], because it was too hard to go away alone because riders like Mathieu and Van Aert were really strong so we needed to wait for the last few kilometres and just try to do our best and the final was just about the legs. We tried to play it well and I think in the end it was good. 

“It’s really motivating for me to be here on this podium, I’m trying to have some more confidence in myself again, just trying to enjoy the races. We’ll see what happens next, but at the moment I’ll just enjoy this podium.” 
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Tom Pidcock

Tom Pidcock

I'm there in the front group with those guys and it'll take a few more races, a few more miles in the legs and I'm sure I'll be there soon."
Tom Pidcock

"It was good fun, but a hard day out. I punctured just before Santa Maria, in the sector before, so it wasn't ideal. But Puccio gave me his wheel so I didn't lose too much time and got back in before the end of the sector. 

"It was pretty good, Egan finished on the podium. We were coming to win, but a podium is good. I was quite happy with how I went, I didn't have much of a punch, but it was good fun. 

"In the lead group I was thinking, 'yeah this is quite cool', these six guys are some of the biggest riders in the world and I was there as well, so that was pretty cool.  

"I didn't have the legs to go any faster to be honest, I can't complain. I'm there in the front group with those guys and it'll take a few more races, a few more miles in the legs and I'm sure I'll be there soon."
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