Hesjedal proves strong again on Eroica gravel roads

By Gregor Brown

Ryder Hesjedal proved Saturday in Siena, Italy, that for a second year in a row the Eroica Toscana is his type of race. The Canadian of Garmin-Slipstream helped form a select group with some of the favourites at the end of the 190-kilometre race.

"I love it, the race's blend of gravel roads with the hilly, punchy climbs. It seemed to come easy, I was a little bit surprised," said Hesjedal to Cyclingnews after the raced marked with 57 kilometres of gravel roads.

Hesjedal finished in the same spot as 2008: tenth. However, the way in which le strade bianche unfolded was completely different. Last year, he attacked solo for 18 kilometres in the finale, but the winning move of Fabian Cancellara and Alessandro Ballan caught him in the final nine kilometres. This year, he formed a select group that battled for the win.

"In the hardest section with the climbing [sector five], I got to the front and we pulled a good group out of that sector, with [Thomas] Lövkvist, [Linus] Gerdemann, [Daniele] Bennati, [Giovanni] Visconti. I was letting it go on the downhill, creating gaps and then maintaining it on the climbs."

Hesjedal formed a move with Bennati, Visconti and Andy Schleck by the end of the seventh sector. They held ten seconds on the group of eventual winner Lövkvist with ten kilometres remaining.

"It looked like our group of four was going to go to the line. I was definitely in the action. I was looking for more than tenth, but I will take the result all the same with those guys."

It was his third race of the year after the Tour Down Under and the Tour Méditerranéen. Hesjedal will lead the USA team this week in the Italian stage race Tirreno-Adriatico, March 11 to 17. Last year he finished eighth overall.

He will complete his run in Italy with the one-day Milano-Sanremo, four days after Tirreno-Adriatico.