Michał Kwiatkowski (Team Sky) took his second victory in Strade Bianche (1.UWT) today adding to his win back in 2014.
The former World Champion rode clear of a group containing a number of the race favourites including Ždenek Štybar (Quick Step Floors) and Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing) with 15 kilometres remaining to solo to victory at the finish of the 175-kilometre race in Siena.
Van Avermaet finished second 15″ down on Kwiatkowski with Tim Wellens (Lotto Soudal) rounding out the podium. The reigning World Champion, Peter Sagan, was forced to pull out due to illness after 114km of the race.
Afterwards Kwiatkowski said: “I was thinking about last year when I crossed the line, and I feel so satisfied. The team has put big trust in to me and all the hard work I’ve done in preparation for this season has paid off.
“It’s the second victory at Strade Bianche in my career – it’s just amazing. Coming into the final stages alone was an incredible feeling.”
He went on to describe his attack saying: “We started to play a game after the Sante Marie section. I didn’t feel so good there, but the cooperation wasn’t so strong among the group, so I thought the best thing was to go at my own pace.
“I didn’t think they’d cooperate well behind me and I could choose my own pace, my own tempo, and go to the finish. I’m so happy that it worked out.”
