Floris De Tier has fought for a top ranking in the twelfth edition of the Strade Bianche for a long time today. The 26-year-old Belgian was in front during the final and eventually became thirteenth. The win went to another Belgian: Tiesj Benoot.

This edition of the Strade Bianche will enter the history books as perhaps the muddiest one so far. It had snowed a lot in Tuscany in the previous days, but the recent thaw turned the course into one big mud pool. It made for heavy conditions in which Jan Boven sent out his riders.

"The boys made for a good and beautiful day", said the sports director afterwards. "The conditions were extremely heavy. It was extra special to see slender riders like Steven Kruijswijk and George Bennett in the front of the race for quite some time."

They still remained behind Sepp Kuss, however, who was part of an early escape. The American was only caught after a hundred and twenty kilometres of racing.

"At that moment, everything fell apart and the strongest riders fought for the win. Among the Team LottoNL-Jumbo riders, Floris remained in front the longest. He was completely broken and empty when he crossed the finish line, not to mention how dirty he was."

De Tier couldn’t care less. His past as a cyclocross rider must have helped him several times today. It cannot be a coincidence that he has become the highest ranked Team LottoNL-Jumbo rider.