The Strade Bianche is a

road bicycle race Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The two most common ...

Tuscany it, Toscano (man) it, Toscana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Citizenship , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = Italian , demogra ...

Central Italy Central Italy ( it, Italia centrale or just ) is one of the five official statistical regions of Italy used by the National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), a first-level NUTS region, and a European Parliament constituency. Regions Central I ...

, starting and finishing in

Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centur ...

. First held in 2007, it is raced annually on the first or second Saturday of March. The name ''Strade Bianche'' (Italian for ''White Roads'') stems from the historic white gravel roads in the

Crete Senesi The Crete Senesi refers to an area of the Italian region of Tuscany immediately to the south of Siena. It consists of a range of hills and woods among villages and includes the ''comuni'' of Asciano, Buonconvento, Monteroni d'Arbia, Rapolano ...

, which are a defining feature of the race. One third of the total race distance is raced on dirt roads, covering 63 km of ''strade bianche'', spread over 11 sectors. Despite its short history, the Strade Bianche has quickly gained prestige, and instigated a renewed interest in road racing on gravel and dirt roads as a specific skill and discipline. The event is part of the

UCI World Tour The UCI WorldTour (2009–2010: ''UCI World Ranking'') is the premier men's elite road cycling tour, sitting above the UCI ProSeries and various regional UCI Continental Circuits. It refers to both the tour of 38 events and, until 2019, an ann ...

, cycling's highest level of professional road races. It is organized by RCS Sport –

La Gazzetta dello Sport ''La Gazzetta dello Sport'' (; "The Sports Gazette") is an Italian daily newspaper dedicated to coverage of various sports. Founded in 1896, it is the most widely read daily newspaper of any kind in Italy (in 2018). History and profile ''La ...

, and is held the weekend before Tirreno–Adriatico as an early spring precursor to the

cobbled classics The cobbled classics are four cycling classics held in March and April. Cobblestones, like mountainous terrain, are important elements in courses of cycling. Many classic cycle races in northwestern Europe contain cobbled sections. The two Monume ...

in April. Swiss Fabian Cancellara holds the record with three wins. Also a three-time winner over the pavé of

Paris–Roubaix Paris–Roubaix is a one-day professional bicycle road race in northern France, starting north of Paris and finishing in Roubaix, at the border with Belgium. It is one of cycling's oldest races, and is one of the ' Monuments' or classics of th ...

and the cobbled Hilligen of

Tour of Flanders The Tour of Flanders ( nl, Ronde van Vlaanderen), also known as ''De Ronde'' (''"The Tour"''), is an annual road cycling race held in Belgium every spring. The most important cycling race in Flanders, it is part of the UCI World Tour and orga ...

, Cancellara rejected comparisons between the races, believing the "white roads" of the ''Strade'' "deserved appreciation in their own right".Fabian Cancellara: 'Don't compare Strade Bianche with Paris-Roubaix'
from

Cycling Weekly ''Cycling Weekly'' is a British cycling magazine. It is published by Future and is devoted to the sport and pastime of cycling. It used to be affectionately referred to by British club cyclists as "The Comic". Since 2015, there is a women's race, the ''

Strade Bianche Donne The Strade Bianche Donne ''(Strade Bianche Women)'', also named Strade Bianche Rosa by Italian media, is an annual professional women's road bicycle racing event in Tuscany, Italy. Roughly a quarter of the route is raced on white gravel roads ...

'', serving as the opening event of the UCI Women's World Tour. It is held on the same day as the men's race, on the same roads but at a shorter distance. Both events start and finish in Siena.

History

Monte Paschi Eroica

L'Eroica Strade Bianche ''("Heroic race of the white roads")'' was created in 1997 as a '' granfondo'' (recreational bike race) for vintage bikes only, on the white gravel roads around

, an event that is still held on the day after the professional race. The concept was to recreate cycling's so-called "heroic era" from the first half of the 20th century, when most bike races were ridden on dirt or unpaved roads. Arrivo eroica

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple Inc., Apple's first iPhone (1st generation), iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakis ...

, a professional race was spun off the event, inaugurally called Monte Paschi Eroica, won by Russian

Alexandr Kolobnev Alexandr Vasilievich Kolobnev (russian: Александр Васильевич Колобнев; born 4 May 1981) is a Russian former professional road bicycle racer. His major victories include winning the 2007 Monte Paschi Eroica, a stage of ...

. The race was held on 9 October; it started in

Gaiole in Chianti Gaiole in Chianti is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Siena in the Italian region Tuscany, located about southeast of Florence and about northeast of Siena. '' Forbes'' named it number one in its list of "Europe's Most Idyllic ...

and finished in Siena. Organizer

RCS RCS may refer to: Organisations *Racing Club de Strasbourg Alsace * Radio Corporation of Singapore * Radcliffe Choral Society * Rawmarsh Community School *Red Crescent Society * Red Cross Society * Representation of Czechs and Slovaks, a football ...

asked local cycling icons Fiorenzo Magni and

Paolo Bettini Paolo Bettini (born 1 April 1974 in Cecina, Livorno, Tuscany) is an Italian former champion road racing cyclist, and the former coach of the Italian national cycling team. Considered the best classics specialist of his generation, and probably o ...

to promote the maiden event.

Monte dei Paschi Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena S.p.A. (), known as BMPS or just MPS, is an Italian bank. Tracing its history to a mount of piety founded in 1472 () and established in its present form in 1624 (), it is the world's oldest or second oldest bank ...

, the world's oldest still-existing bank with its headquarters in Siena, served as the race's title sponsor for the first four years. In 2008 it moved to early March on the calendar, closer to the heart of the

spring classics The classic cycle races are the most prestigious one-day professional road cycling races in the international calendar. Some of these events date back to the 19th century. They are normally held at roughly the same time each year. The five most ...

season.Second Edition of Monte Paschi Eroica - Eroica's status grows with new springtime date
Retrieved on 2008-03-24. Swiss Fabian Cancellara won the second edition. In 2009, organizers changed the name of the race to ''Strade Bianche – Eroica Toscana'' and in 2010 to ''Strade Bianche''. The race was also lengthened and one more gravel sector was added, taking the total unsealed sections to 57 kilometres.

Strade Bianche

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...

, the start of the race moved to the hilly town of

San Gimignano San Gimignano () is a small walled medieval hill town in the province of Siena, Tuscany, north-central Italy. Known as the Town of Fine Towers, San Gimignano is famous for its medieval architecture, unique in the preservation of about a dozen of ...

. In

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, its name officially changed to ''Strade Bianche – Eroica Pro'' after the creation of a women's version, and UCI upgraded the event to a 1.HC race of the

UCI Europe Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of ...

, the highest rating for a non- World Tour single-day cycling event. Since 2016, Siena hosts both the start and finish of the Strade Bianche. Due to the nature of the race and its place on the calendar, the field is usually made up of riders taking part in Tirreno–Adriatico and

Milan–San Remo Milan–San Remo (in Italian ''Milano-Sanremo''), also called "''The Spring classic''" or "''La Classicissima''", is an annual road cycling race between Milan and Sanremo, in Northwest Italy. With a distance of 298 km (~185.2 miles) it ...

Although a young event, the race gained the status of an ''instant classic'', garnering much media attention and soon becoming a desirable entry in classics riders' palmares. Among the winners of the first ten editions feature Fabian Cancellara,

Philippe Gilbert Philippe Gilbert (born 5 July 1982) is a Belgian former professional road bicycle racer, who is best known for winning the World Road Race Championships in 2012, and for being one of two riders, along with Davide Rebellin, to have won the three ...

and

Michał Kwiatkowski Michał Kwiatkowski ( , born 2 June 1990) is a Polish professional road bicycle racer, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Kwiatkowski is seen as a strong all rounder, with good sprinting, time-trialling and climbing abilities allowing him ...

on a very international roll of honour.

Moreno Moser Moreno Moser (born 25 December 1990) is an Italian former professional road racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2012 and 2019 for the , , and the teams. Born in Trento, Moser comes from a family of professional cyclists; his uncles ...

became the first Italian winner of the Strade Bianche only in

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Classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

specialist Cancellara won the tenth edition in 2016, becoming the first three-time winner of the race and earning a gravel sector named after him.

World Tour race

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, the Strade Bianche was included in the

, cycling's highest level of professional races. Michał Kwiatkowski claimed his second victory, becoming the second rider with more than one win. The 2018 event was raced in abysmal weather. Low temperatures and heavy rainfall had made the gravel roads exceptionally muddy and decimated the peloton in the early stages of the race. Belgian

Tiesj Benoot Tiesj Benoot (born 11 March 1994) is a Belgian cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Career Lotto–Soudal (2015–19) Benoot turned professional with the Belgian UCI World Tour team in 2015, after riding for the outfit in 2013 and ...

claimed his first professional victory, after he bridged a gap to the race leaders and left them behind on the penultimate gravel sector of Colle Pinzuto. Only 53 of 147 participants finished the race; 20 riders arrived outside of the time limit. Second-place finisher

Romain Bardet Romain Bardet (born 9 November 1990) is a French professional racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Bardet is known for his climbing and descending abilities, which make him one of the top general classification contenders in Gra ...

called the event a ''"Dante-esque contest"''. The 2020 event was postponed to August 1 from its usual March schedule due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

Route

Course

The race starts and finishes in the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

. The route consists of 184 kilometres over hilly

terrain Terrain or relief (also topographical relief) involves the vertical and horizontal dimensions of land surface. The term bathymetry is used to describe underwater relief, while hypsometry studies terrain relative to sea level. The Latin word ...

crossing the

in the central Tuscan

province of Siena The province of Siena ( it, provincia di Siena, link=no, ) is a province in Tuscany, Italy. Its capital is the city of Siena. Geography The province is divided into seven historical areas: * Alta Val d'Elsa * Chianti senese * The urban are ...

, including 11 sectors of

gravel roads A gravel road is a type of unpaved road surfaced with gravel that has been brought to the site from a quarry or stream bed. They are common in less-developed nations, and also in the rural areas of developed nations such as Canada and the Unit ...

, totaling of dirt roads.Strade Bianche Website
Retrieved on 2014-06-30 The finish is on Siena's illustrious

Piazza del Campo Piazza del Campo is the main public space of the historic center of Siena, Tuscany, Italy and is regarded as one of Europe's greatest medieval squares. It is renowned worldwide for its beauty and architectural integrity. The Palazzo Pubblico and ...

, after a steep and narrow climb on the roughly-paved Via Santa Caterina leading into the center of the medieval city.

Gravel roads

The white gravel roads, characteristic of the Tuscan countryside, provide the unique character of the race. They are usually country lanes and farm tracks, called ''strade bianche'' or ''sterrati'' in Italian, twisting through the hills and vineyards of the Chianti region. The longest and most arduous sectors are the ones in Lucignano d'Asso (9.5 km) and Asciano (11 km). Some of the dirt roads are flat, other sections include steep climbs and winding descents, testing riders' climbing abilities and bike handling skills. Positioning and route knowledge often prove vital. L'Eroica (cicloturismo)

Race organizers were inspired by the two most famous northern classics, uniting the peculiarities of the

with its ''bergs'' (short stretches of steep hills), and

with its grueling cobblestone sections. It has been called Italy's answer to Flanders' most iconic one-day races, as reflected by the promotional slogan of the 2015 edition: ''La Classica del Nord più a sud d'Europa'' (''Europe's most southern Northern Classic''). Angelo Zomegnan,

events director, explained before the first edition in 2007: "Cycling needed something new and the riders need a motivation ..This race is unique and special." Likewise, Italian sprinter Daniele Bennati was equally enthusiastic about the race, stating: "It was a sensation of turning back in time. I did not think paths like these, where you only see a tractor every now and then, still existed ..It will be an important race that could become an important classic. I can already imagine the atmosphere of the arrival in the Piazza del Palio." Strade bianche hommes 2018

Winners

Cancellara in Gaiole (6807642682) (cropped)

Multiple winners

Wins per country

Trivia

* Riders who take three Strade Bianche titles have a sector of gravel road named after them. Fabian Cancellara is the first rider with a stretch named in his honour: sector 8, an 11.5 km sector in Monte Sante Marie. * The youngest winner was

(22 years and 70 days). * The oldest winner was Fabian Cancellara in

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(34 years and 353 days). * Three riders – Alessandro Ballan,

Peter Sagan Peter Sagan (; born 26 January 1990) is a Slovak professional road bicycle racer who currently rides for UCI ProTeam . Sagan had a successful junior cyclo-cross and mountain bike racing career, winning the junior cross-country race at the 2008 ...

and

Greg Van Avermaet Greg Van Avermaet (born 17 May 1985) is a Belgian professional cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Considered one of the most versatile riders of modern cycling, Van Avermaet is a specialist of the classic cycle races, but has also ...

– finished second on two occasions. None of them have ever won the race.

Strade Bianche Donne

A women's race, the ''

'', was inaugurated in 2015. Serving as the opening event of the UCI Women's World Tour, it is held on the same day as the men's race, on the same roads but at a shorter distance. The women's race is run over 136 km, containing 30 km of gravel roads spread over eight sectors. American

Megan Guarnier Megan Guarnier (born May 4, 1985) is an American former racing cyclist, who rode professionally between 2010 and 2019 for the , and teams. She was made a member of Phi Beta Kappa at Middlebury College in 2007. Major results ;2009 : 2nd Chol ...

won the inaugural event in 2015.

References

External links

* {{UCI World Tour UCI World Tour races UCI Europe Tour races Cycle races in Italy Recurring sporting events established in 2007 2007 establishments in Italy