Is van Aert back to his best? Strava shows fastest-ever ride into Siena

Van Aert already knew what it meant to win in Siena. In 2020, he was the best in the Strade Bianche, having already been third in 2018 after a brilliant edition. But after a disappointing season and a failed opening weekend of the Giro d'Italia due to illness, it had to happen in the ninth stage of the Corsa Rosa. The 'Strade stage' had been circled in red in the classic king's calendar for some time.

Once he arrived on the unpaved surfaces, van Aert was immediately right at the front. On the Pieve a Salti, the first gravel section with a tricky climb, he rode harder than he ever had before, and that trend continued in the subsequent sections. The second gravel section was even his fastest time ever. That was also the moment he closed the gap to the leading group, and together with Thymen Arensman, Egan Bernal, and Isaac Del Toro, among others, ended up at the front of the race.

After that, it pushed hard on the gravel section towards San Martino, where the leading group was thinned out considerably. The last part of the race had two sharp corners with the Monteaperti and the Colle Pinzuto, and whoever wanted to win had to be focused. That was van Aert: on the Monteaperti, Del Toro pulled through, but the Belgian was stuck on his wheel. It earned him the fifth-fastest time ever there. On the Pinzuto, the scenario was the same: again, the UAE youngster took off, and again, van Aert could go with him. Again, it was a top-five time for the Belgian, albeit 28 seconds behind the KOM of Tadej Pogacar.

Del Toro against van Aert, the duel fighting for the stage win. The Mexican rider seemed the stronger when it went uphill, but van Aert couldn't lose, shouldn't lose. He locked onto his rival's rear wheel on the steep Via Santa Caterina. With that effort, he was only three seconds slower than Egan Bernal's best time. He then sprinted past his rival toward the Piazza del Campo: never before had anyone done that faster. Even Mathieu van der Poel was 3 seconds slower from the steepest part to the finish line when he won the Strade Bianche in 2021. Hats off, Wout!