Tom Pidcock's victory in Saturday's Strade Bianche left no doubt about his classic power, with a long solo run reminiscent of Tadei Pogachar's success last year.
Skipping February's cyclocross world championship title defense to focus on the upcoming road season, Ineos Grenadiers riders Alberto Bettiol (EF Education-Easy Post) and Andrea Bagioli (Sudar-Quick Step) and joined the movement with just over 50km to go.
Then, as part of a trio, he pulled away from his companions with a couple of kilometers to go, and rather than attacking, he simply rode away, skillfully working his way down the gravel road.
"I've been feeling good this week, so I knew something good was going to happen today.
"The team atmosphere was really good and I knew something was going to happen."
However, sailing so early was not exactly according to plan. Pidcock started at a similar point to the 2022 winner Pogachar, and in an interview with Het Laatste Nieuws, he joked that after about 5 km in front of him, he actually thought, 'I am not Tadei Pogachar.'
But by that point, Pidcock had already pulled away from Bettio and Bazioli, including Sven-Erik Bystrom (Intermarque-Circus Wanty), Alessandro De Marchi (Team Jayco Arla), and Ivan Romeo (Movistar). Catching the early breakaway.
"In the team meeting I said I would seize my moment, and I think I did that today, I think I did that today," Pidcock said.
"But the racing was so fast all day today that I found it hard to pull the gap back."
Indeed, the average speed of 40.636 km/h, the fastest of the 17 Strade Bianche events, was not enough to stop Pidcock's chase.
"At one point I could see I was really close and I thought, 'Oh, I made a mistake here, I went too fast.'
"But I'd already shot my bullets out. That was our only option."The skilled downhill rider used his strength to widen the gap again, eventually winning by 20 seconds over Valentin Maduas (Groupama-FDJ).
Pidcock became the first British winner of the men's Strade Bianche seven years after Lizzie Deignan became the first British winner of the women's Strade Bianche in 2016.
"I want to win the biggest classics and I won the Strade. Obviously, I want to carry this form into more races."
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