An impressive Skujins races to second at Strade Bianche

At Strade Bianche, super Toms Skujins left everyone speechless and took a well-deserved second place, confirming that he is currently enjoying great form. Ahead of him only Pogacar (UAE), the absolute ruler of the race, was almost unreachable for the entire peloton.

But for Lidl-Trek today it was Toms’ performance that counts. Splendid, generous, memorable.

The Latvian proved to be strong with both the legs (coming back into the peloton three times after two punctures and a crash) and with the head in all the key moments of the race. When Pogacar decided to say goodbye to the top riders’ group, Toms held his nerve and kept his legs fresh, waiting for the perfect moment to launch his move towards the podium.

At 25km to go, he sized the moment and attacked to chase Van Gils (Lotto-Dstny). Once the Belgian had been caught, they rode together until the final climb in Siena, where Toms made his decisive effort to go alone to the finish to claim second.

In Piazza del Campo, Toms could enjoy a podium finish of absolute prestige.

Without the team I would have not been second. 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, and both times Eddie and Fabio 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 my gears were jammed with mud, it was a hard moment, and luckily we had a bit of road after Santa Marie so I changed my bike. It was a battle, not just physically but also mentally. Today it was already a success for me any place on the podium, so 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. Today was definitely one of those days.

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 is growing and I’m very happy to be a part of it.