The strade bianche provides a glimpse of cycling's past.
The hilly race through the hills south of Siena has rapidly become a special race on the calendar. Major professional races often inspire Gran Fondo sportive rides but it was the Eroica sportive, where riders have to use bikes made before 1987, which inspired RCS Sport to create the Strade Bianche professional race in 2007.
The hilly race through the hills south of Siena has rapidly become a special race on the calendar. Major professional races often inspire Gran Fondo sportive rides but it was the Eroica sportive, where riders have to use bikes made before 1987, which inspired RCS Sport to create the Strade Bianche professional race in 2007.
That first race was captured by Alexandr Kolobnev, and when Fabian Cancellara out sprinted Alessandro Ballan to take the second edition the following spring, a new classic was born.
The 190km race is now a permanent fixture the weekend before Tirreno-Adriatico, and continues to grow in prestige with each passing year. The combination of stirring scenery and combative racing has made it a firm favourite with fans and riders alike, and perhaps the ultimate proof of its appeal has come with the recent trend of inserting Strade Bianche-style stages into the route of the Giro d’Italia on its passage through Tuscany.
From CyclingNews
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