Wind blows apart Strade Bianche, causing mass crash

Gusts of over 80 kilometres an hour assaulted the peloton midway through the men's Stade Bianche, with the wind and shifting gravel surface seeing a mass crash within the peloton, with world champion Julian Alaphilippe (QuickStep Alpha Vinyl) and eventual race winner Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) coming down in the fall.

Mass crash during the 2022 Strade Bianche. Source: Strade Bianche

Halfway through the long gravel sector at Lucignano d'Asso, the terrain opened up as the peloton hit the descent. The wind was coming as a direct crosswind from the peloton's right, and blew a number of riders off the road, with a large number of riders hitting the deck in the resulting crash.

Alaphilippe was prominent in the carnage, flipping over his handlebars as he went over the top of a crashed Alpecin-Fenix rider, though he quickly remounted and was part of the action for the rest of the race.

"I don't know what happened at the fall," said Alaphilippe at the finish. "There was a lot of wind, which made it very dangerous. I think someone went down in front of me, making it impossible for me to avoid the crash. I've hurt my back."

As the incident occurred at the front of the peloton on a descent and an uneven surface, there was little chance for riders behind to avoid the pile-up and many hit the deck, with Australian Michael Matthews (BikeExchange-Jayco) one of the riders to abandon the race as a result. 

Victor Campanaerts and Brent Van Moer (both Lotto Soudal) and Salvatore Puccio (Ineos Grenadiers) also abandoned the race due to the crash.

The race win was taken out by Tadej Pogačar after a 50-kilometre raid from the peloton, the two-time Tour de France champion having no issue with the gravel sections and climbs as he got out to a big lead and then maintained his advantage to the finish as attacks came from behind.