Crashes and mechanicals can’t hold Toms Skujiņš back from second place in Strade Bianche

Toms Skujiņš (Lidl-Trek) battled back from a series of incidents and bad luck to take a valiant second place in Strade Bianche on Saturday.

The Latvian rode an aggressive race throughout, attempting to forge clear in the opening hour of action, before modifying his tactics once it was clear the peloton saw him as a major threat.

Read more: Incredible Tadej Pogačar wins Strade Bianche after jaw-dropping 81km solo break

However, the Lidl-Trek rider’s race looked in serious jeopardy when he and teammate Quinn Simmons both crashed on the critical gravel sector of Monte Sante Marie with around 80km to go. At that point, Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) had already put in a race-winning attack but Skujiņš returned to the remnants of the peloton and even managed a second chase when he was forced to change bikes.

With Pogačar and the chance of victory gone, Skujiņš focused on racing for the podium, and he made several attacks in the final before chasing down Maxim Van Gils (Lotto Dstny) and linking up with the Belgian with just over 20km to go.

The pair worked well together, safe in the knowledge that collaboration would net them a place on the podium, and on the final climb to the line, it was Skujiņš who had the freshest legs.

"I mean, honestly, without the team, I would have not been second,” Skujiņš said post-race.

“It’s the first time I’ve been the designated leader in the race and I hope I paid them back well for that. I flatted twice already before I crashed, and both times I took the wheel from Jacopo [Mosca], and both times Eddie [Theuns] and Fabio [Felline] waited for me to get me back into the mix, and then to get me well positioned ahead of sector seven. They really did everything they could.

"It’s a pity that against Tadej there’s not much you can do, but I think with everything that happened today we can be more than satisfied. After I crashed and my gears were jammed with mud, it was a hard moment, and luckily we had a bit of road after Santa Maria so I changed bikes.

“It was a battle, not just physically but also mentally. 100% [it was a success for me], any place on the podium and I’m very satisfied. It’s one of the most beautiful podiums that you could have with the finish in this square in Siena. It’s a very special race, you always know it’s going to be crazy and you just have to keep fighting and today was definitely one of those days.”

Skujiņš has been in impressive form since the Classics began, with a notable performance at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad last week. He missed out on a top-10 but spent over 100km on the attack.

“Already last weekend I could see that I’ve stepped up again; that’s the goal every year to step up, and every year I seem to manage to do it. There’s more racing to come, the team’s growing and I’m very happy to be a part of it,” he added.