Wout Van Aert returned to action in fine style at Strade Bianche, claiming his first win of the season with a late solo attack.

The Team Jumbo-Visma rider worked his way into an elite five-man group as the race splintered on the torturous gravel roads and then jumped clear in the last 12km with a phenomenal solo effort to leave his rivals in the dust.

The 25 year old left enough in the tank to power up the steep, narrow ramps into Siena, and crossed the line with his arms aloft to take the biggest one-day win of his career.

Davide Formolo and Max Schachmann had both given chase, with Formolo dropping his companion in the final kilometre to take second place, 30 seconds behind the winner.

After the race van Aert said: “Strade Bianche is one of the nicest one-day races on the calendar. I fell in love with it two years ago and it’s been a goal of mine to win it since then, so I’m really happy to have done it.”

The racing had been flat out from the off with seemingly every team looking to impress after the lengthy layoff due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Here’s a recap of some of the best bits of data Velon recorded from the race: