Gallery: A cracking men’s edition of Strade Bianche

When Wout van Aert caught leaders Julian Alaphilippe and Jacob Fuglsang as the lead riders rolled into the picturesque walled city of Siena, the race was about to explode to a crescendo after hours of tough racing of the sterrati of Tuscany. The spectacle and quality of racing has made Strade Bianche one of the calendar’s most anticipated one-day Spring Classics. In 2019, the race delivered again so check out this stunning gallery of images from Sirotti.

09-03-2019 Strade Bianche; Lucignano D'asso;

Riders struggle on the Monte Sante Marie.

The scenic Lucignano d'Asso section of white gravel

Tiesj Benoot's Lotto-Soudal team masses at the front of the peloton.

Diego Rosa of Team Sky was the last attacker reeled in by the peloton.

Canadian champion Antoine Duchesne on the sterrati

The peloton kicked up dust from the white gravel roads.

Tour de France champion Geraint Thomas

The picturesque, rolling hills of Tuscany

Greg Van Avermaet is marked by Tim Wellens with Wout van Aert close behind.

Last year's winner Tiesj Benoot applies the pressure.

The days champion was first time Strade Bianche racer Julian Alaphilippe who ducked it out to the line with Jacok Fulgsang.

For the second year in a row, Wout van Aert finished on the podium in third.

The three strongest riders on the day made up the final podium.

Alaphilippe's 2019 campaign is off to a good start.

Alaphilippe exploded past Fuglsang at the top of Via Santa Caterina to win in his first participation in Strade Bianche as he rolled across the line in the beautiful Piazza del Campo. Deceuninck-Quick Step are undefeated this spring going four-for-four in the Classics after Zdenek Stybar won Omloop Het Niewsblad, Bob Jungels won at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne and Florian Sénéchal won at Le Samyn.

The race really got underway on the 11.5-km Monte Sante Maria gravel section where Greg Van Avermaet, Tim Wellens and Yves Lampaert teamed up to slit the race making an elite selection. The skies were mercifully blue for the peloton after a cold and messy 2018 edition of the race but the competition was no less fierce.

Fuglsang forced clear with van Aert and Alaphilippe in tow on the steep 700-m Monteaperti sterrati section. Van Aert was dispatched from the lead pair but evenly came back as they rolled into Sienna. For the second year running, van Aert would finish third solidifying his considerable talents in the one day classics.

Each year, the race grows in stature with consistently exciting racing with the gorgeous Tuscan backdrop and the unique character of a race over the white gravel roads.

The Classics take a brief hiatus this week with Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico before resuming with Milan-San Remo on March 23. We then hit the peak of the classics season as the peloton gears up for the greatly anticipated rendezvous in Flanders and Roubaix.