Annemiek van Vleuten blitzed her opposition to take a fine solo victory at Strade Bianche, celebrating her return to full fitness in Siena’s spring sunshine.
© LaPresse – D’Alberto/Ferrari
The Michelton-Scott rider, also the reigning time trial world champion, launched what turned out to be the decisive move on the last steep ramp of gravel in Sector 8. As her rivals tried to decide who should chase, and how to go about it, Van Vleuten opened an unassailable lead in the opening round of the 2019 Women’s World Tour.
There were 31.6 kilometers of gravel peppering the 136km course looping out and back from Siena. The sun shone down, and pleasant spring temperatures meant for a fast and tactical race.
Little actually happened in the first half of the race, with Sunweb and CCC-Liv heading the peloton and sweeping up an early escape. The first noticable split in the race came on Sector 4, but it was on the 9.5-kilometer Sector 5 around half-distance that the race began to take shape.
Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (Bigla) spent energy recovering after a puncture while Van Vleuten’s team-mate and nominal co-leader Amanda Spratt crashed out. A reduced elite group of around 30-35 riders tore out of the dust at the end of Sector 5, and the attacks continued one after the other.
Eventually, Boels-Dolmans succeeded in prising a dangerous move out of the peloton, headed by Karol-Ann Canuel, and representing most of the big teams through Jeanne Korevaar (CCC-Liv), Sunweb’s Lucinda Brand, Hannah Barnes from Canyon-SRAM, Audrey Cordon-Ragot (Trek-Segafredo) and Julie van de Velde for Lotto Soudal before they were shut down with 33km to go.
Canuel tried again, joined byCanyon-SRAM’s Elena Cecchini and Tayler Wiles from Trek-Segafredo, but they lasted only until Sector 6.
Shortly after this, it was the real heads of state pulling clear on the penultimate gravel sector: van der Breggen, Blaak and MTB star Annika Langvad from Boels Dolmans; the on-form Marta Bastianelli (Team Virtu Cycling); Ludwig from Bigla; Kasia Niewiadoma for Canyon-SRAM; Marianne Vos and Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (CCC-Liv); Janneke Ensing (Sunweb); Trek-Segafredo’s Ruth Winder; and – of course – Van Vleuten.
Blaak and Ensing jumped clear as the final gravel sector loomed, before Blaak attempted to repeat her trick of a solo win from last weekend’s Omloop Het Niuewsblad. The final vicious ramp, reaching almost 20%, proved too much, as Van Vleuten flew past. No-one would see her again until the finish as she stretched clear, powering up the Via Santa Caterina and into the Piazza del Campo.
© LaPresse – D’Alberto/Ferrari
Niewiadoma just failed to maintain her run of second places at Strade Bianche, unable to hold off Annika Langvad in her very first World Tour road race.
Marta Bastianelli showed her form and proved her all-round class with fourth, and CCC-Liv might need to look at their tactics as Moolman-Pasio and Vos came in more or less side-by-side, over 50 seconds back.
Van Vleuten gets to wear the purple Women’s World Tour leader’s jersey into the next round at Ronde van Drenthe.
Strade Bianche 2019 Result, 136 kilometers
1 Annemiek Van Vleuten (Michelton-Scott) 3hrs 48’ 49”
2 Annika Langvad (Boels-Dolmans) + 37”
3 Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM) + 40”
4 Marta Bastianelli (Virtu Cycling) + 44”
5 Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (Bigla) same time
6 Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (CCC-Liv) + 51”
7 Marianne Vos (CCC-Liv) + 52”
8 Janneke Ensing (Team Sunweb) + 54”
9 Anna van der Breggen (Boels-Dolmans) + 1’ 28”
10 Chantal Blaak (Boels-Dolmans) + 1’ 50”