Jumbo Visma finished third and fifth in Strade Bianche, but their confusing tactics drew overt criticism from Matej Mohoric.

On the road to Siena, they closed the gap to Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) to 10 seconds, but Valter attacked twice, thwarting an organized chase by Pidcock.

Pidcock, of Ineos Grenadiers, became the first British winner of Strade Bianche with a solo attack at 50 km, while Benoot finished third, 22 seconds behind Valentin Maduas (Groupama-FDJ). Barthel was fifth at 23 seconds after the chase group split on the final climb to Siena.

Benoot was convinced he could have won the Strade Bianche, but Barthel admitted his mistake.

"If you had told me before the start, a podium finish would have been a good result, but I think I had the legs to win, so I have mixed feelings," Benoot told the Dutch and Flemish media across the finish line at the Campo Square.

"Right now there is still disappointment. Maybe tomorrow that disappointment will turn into pride."

"I'm not sure.

"I could have done better in the chase, but I made mistakes too. It was a mistake by both of us that no one was with Pidcock when he escaped. I think we were both among the best riders in the race. We proved it. It's a shame we didn't make the most of it in the end."

"Of course, congratulations to Pidcock. After a solo run like that, all I can say is: wow! And congratulations. He never stops and the best rider won today."

Valter apologized for his performance and for Jumbo-Visma's final result.

The 24-year-old Hungarian national champion, who moved from Groupama-FDJ to Jumbo-Visma this season, has little experience riding at the cutting edge of major classics. He ran the Gran Camino with Jonas Vingegaard, but never ran with Benoot until Strade Bianche.

"We had two guys in front of us, but in the end we didn't make the podium," Walter said ruefully.

"I have to work harder for Jumbo's standard, but I can be happy with my performance today; I finished fifth in the second Strade Bianche."

Jumbo-Visma was the only team with two riders, but Benoot and Walter raced as equals rather than teammates.

Benoot won the 2018 Strade Bianche and also won the Coure Bruxelles Coure last Sunday. He definitely deserves to be declared team leader by the Directeur Sportif of Jumbo Visma.

Valter admitted that he made a mistake in the last few kilometers as the pack closed in on Pidcock.

"That was my mistake," Valter said.

"I should have communicated better with Tige. If I compare myself to Nathan Van Hooydonk, I can still improve. Nathan has known Tige for a while and knows him well, but Tige is a good leader. If we race together a little bit more, we will get better. It's only my first race with him."