Siena (Italy) (AFP) - Slovenia’s Tadej Pogacar won the Strade Bianche on Saturday for the third time in his career, after recovering from a fall 50km from the finish.

Pogacar of Team UAE topped the podium by 1min 24sec ahead of Briton Tom Pidcock, with Belgium’s Tim Wellens a further 48sec adrift.

After victory in the Tuscan one-day race in 2022 and 2024, 26-year-old Pogacar now equals Swiss rider Fabian Cancellara’s record of three victories in the Strade Bianche.

“Pretty good race today. The race was super fast. It was a really strong breakaway and our guys did super amazing work in the front,” said Pogacar who completed the 213km race in 5hr 13mins and 58secs.

“We just went fast and it was a really hard race.”

After falling off his bike at a corner on a descent, Pogacar displayed several cuts to his body with blood notably visible on his left shoulder.

“I enjoyed it until I crossed the finish line. Now I’m in adrenaline wear-off and I start to feel a lot of pain,” said the reigning world champion and Tour de France winner.

“Not the best way to win a race, but a win is a win. Let’s hope it’s nothing worse than it looks and all should be fine.

“I went too fast I guess. I know this road very well. I rode it already 20 times in my life,” added Pogacar, who had been leading at the time of his fall.

“For a moment I didn’t know if I was OK. The bike was not working so I had to change the bike.

“I was a bit worried because when you crash the body takes a lot from you. But still I had enough to finish it off.”

Pogacar saw his rear wheel give way and ended up in a ditch after a spectacular spin. But the three-time Tour de France champion quickly got up and resumed the race, with his jersey and shorts ripped.

He then found himself 32 seconds behind Team Q36.5’s Pidcock, but after a change of bike, he finally caught up with the 2023 winner 45km from the finish in Siena, after Pidcock had sportingly stopped to wait for him.

- ‘Of course I waited’ -

“When he crashed, of course, I carried on. I didn’t know what was happening, but then he was back on his bike, he was coming back, so of course I waited,” said Paris 2024 Olympic mountain bike gold medallist Pidcock.

“He’s a competitor, he’s a world champion, you respect that, you wait, regardless of whether he’s a world champion or not.

“You know, he made a mistake. This is not how you take advantage in a race.”

Pogacar dropped Pidcock at 18.8km thanks to a lightning-fast acceleration on one of the last difficulties, the Colle Pinzuto.

“Of course I wanted to try and win. I think I did a good performance, let’s be honest. I came pretty close,” said Pidcock.

“But he (Pogacar) was still too strong in this last attack of his. I’m happy, but at the same time, of course, disappointed.”

Pogacar will have to put any lingering pain from the fall swiftly behind him as his schedule starts to heat up, with Milan-San Remo two weeks away on March 22.

Alongside Paris-Roubaix, it is one of the two Monuments that the Slovenian has yet to win and is his main objective at the start of this 2025 season.