Strade Bianche
Some one-day races, such as Paris-roubaix with its terrible terrain, or the Tour of Flanders with its cobbled climbs, sell themselves on their toughness, their history and their list of illustrious winners. But there’s one race that deserves its place among them yet which is still so young that, figuratively speaking, it has only just had its stabilisers taken off.
The Strade Bianche, an Italian oneday race that takes place in Tuscany in March each year, boasts a similarly ‘interesting’ road surface, exciting racing and big-name winners, just like its more established northern European one-day counterparts. It can’t compete when it comes to history, however, having first been run in 2007. That has a touch of irony, as the race grew out of the Eroica, a local sportive ride that had been running for a decade and celebrated cycling history thanks to a stipulation that everyone taking part must do so on a bike manufactured in 1987 or earlier,
In the first of a new series on upcoming races, Cyclist looks at an Italian classic-in-the-making
and dress in vintage cycling clothing. The first edition of the pro event – then called the Monte Paschi Eroica – took place two days after the Eroica sportive in October 2007, but fans didn’t have long to wait until its second running. Just five months after the inaugural edition the race was back, having been moved to March. The change in the Strade Bianche’s position on the calendar made it an ideal warm-up for the TirrenoAdriatico stage race, which starts just four days later, as well as for Classics such as Paris-roubaix and the Tour of Flanders, both of which follow in April.
It’s also become a race to win in its own right, having quickly gained kudos and support from fans as a must-watch, early-season one-day Classic.
White heat
The route of the Strade Bianche still follows much of the same route as the Eroica, and it ’s these roads that are both the race ’s main selling point, and the origin of its name. Strade bianche means ‘white roads’, referring to the chalky, flinty farm tracks that snake through the region. These sections of gravel roads – or sterrati – punctuate the asphalt road sections in much the same way as the cobbled sections do at ParisRoubaix. There are 10 distinct gravel sectors, totalling a quarter of the race route, with the first 2.2km sector coming after 30km. The seventh sector, which starts in Asciano after almost 150km of racing, lasts for 11.5km, most of which are uphill. Although no major climbs feature on the route, the undulating nature of the race and the gravel roads soon start to take their toll.
Fabian Cancellara, the Swiss three-time winner of both Flanders and Roubaix, and a two-time winner of the Strade Bianche in 2008 and 2012, warns against any suggestion that the sections of ‘white road’ are similar to the pavé of the north.
‘You can’t really compare them, other than that you need very good bikehandling skills and you need to be at the front when you hit the sectors,’ he tells Cyclist. ‘In Roubaix, it’s about finding a rhythm on the cobbles. You need speed, as if you’re flying over them. On gravel roads, which go seriously up and down, the skills are different.’
The surface may be different, but the vital requirement for concentration is the same. When it ’s dry, the bumpy, loose surface of the gravel sectors threatens to unship you at any moment, as Cancellara’s Trek Factory Racing team-mate, Riccardo Zoidl, found out on one of the short, sharp descents in 2014, breaking his collarbone in the process.
‘Your position in the peloton is crucial, just like at Paris-roubaix,’ says current road-race World Champion and defending Strade Bianche champion Michal Kwiatkowski of Belgian team Ettix Quick-step. ‘You have to always stay focused, stay upright, and stay near the front.’
While the threat of rain – and therefore more crashes – isn’t as big as at Roubaix, neither is springtime Tuscany immune from adverse weather. The strade bianche were also used during stage 7 of the 2010 Giro d’italia, turning the sterrati into pale-brown ice rinks, from which a mud-soaked Cadel Evans emerged to take the stage win.
Italian drama
What the Strade Bianche lacks in history it more than makes up for in stunning scenery. This is the Tuscany of which dreams are made, and it contrasts starkly with the grim bleakness of north-east France or Belgium. The race starts in San Gimignano, 40km south west of Florence, and finishes in Siena, both of which have been named UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
The Tour of Flanders and ParisRoubaix date back to 1913 and 1896 respectively, but according to Cancellara the Strade Bianche could one day match their importance on the international cycling calendar.
‘Why not? It has the potential to become really big,’ he says. ‘It may take some time before that happens, but the main ingredients are there: big riders, scenic landscapes, a large fan base, a beautiful finish in Siena and, above all, one specific trait that sets the race apart from the others: the gravel roads. With every edition the legend will grow.
When it’s dry, the bumpy, loose surface of the gravel sections threatens to unship you at any moment, as Cancellara’s Trek team-mate, Riccardo Zoidl, found out on one of the short, sharp descents in 2014, breaking his collarbone in the process
‘My father is of Italian descent, so I have some Italian DNA,’ Cancellara adds. ‘I really enjoy racing in Italy, and in Tuscany in particular. It’s just a beautiful race – very, very scenic, but also very, very hard. You don’t win this race by chance.’
That’s something last year’s winner would also agree with.
‘Racing in Tuscany is an amazing feeling,’ Kwiatkowski tells Cyclist. ‘The countryside is just beautiful. You have to try riding there at least once in your life. Just to ride your bike; never mind racing.’
Kwiatkowski had to outsmart Peter Sagan to win in 2014. The Slovakian champion had lit the blue touch paper with just over 20km to go, attacking the front group of around 15 riders on an uphill paved section, with only Kwiatkowski, clad in the white and red jersey of Polish champion, capable of going with him.
Kwiatkowski allowed Sagan to lead into the final kilometre, and on up through the archway of Siena’s walled historic centre with 700m to go, the pair having worked together to build a lead of 45 seconds over the chasers.
Sagan still led up, and up, through the narrow streets, winding things up from the front, but he simply had nothing left when Kwiatkowski accelerated past him in the final 300m to take the win by 19 seconds, the Polish rider clutching his head in disbelief as he crossed the line.
‘That was such a wonderful moment,’ says Kwiatkowski. ‘I think it was my most beautiful win until I won the World Championships. To add the Strade Bianche to my palmarès was truly an honour.’
We think you’ll enjoy watching it, too. Be sure to tune in on 7th March to see if he can do it again. Whatever the result, you’re in for a treat.
As the 2014 race reached its climax, Peter Sagan simply had nothing left when Michal Kwiatkowski accelerated past him in the final 300m to take the win by 19 seconds