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27-524: Despite its short history, the Strade Bianche has quickly gained prestige, and 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 , cycling's highest level of professional road races. It is organized by RCS Sport – La Gazzetta dello Sport , and is held the weekend before Tirreno–Adriatico as an early spring precursor to

54-401: A desirable entry in classics riders' palmares . Among the winners of the first ten editions feature Fabian Cancellara , Philippe Gilbert and Michał Kwiatkowski on a very international roll of honour. Moreno Moser became the first Italian winner of the Strade Bianche in the 2013 race . Classics specialist Cancellara won the tenth edition in 2016 , becoming the first three-time winner of

81-583: A national squad, that is not a UCI registered team, participated in a race, its members were not eligible to receive points. In 2011, a rule change meant that only riders on ProTeam squads were eligible for points. From 2012 to 2015, the team time trial at the UCI Road World Championships contributed points to the team classification only. Since 2019, the UCI Men's road racing world ranking , which includes points earned in races that are not part of

108-399: A solo breakaway on the final climb in the last kilometer. The start list includes 17 teams – 11 ProTeams and 6 Professional Continental Teams  – and a total of 136 riders. Among them were the 2012 winner Fabian Cancellara ( RadioShack–Leopard ), Cannondale talents Peter Sagan and Moreno Moser , the 2006 Milan – San Remo winner Filippo Pozzato of Lampre–Merida ,

135-604: A women's race, the Strade Bianche Donne , 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. 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 Siena, an event that

162-502: Is on Siena's Piazza del Campo , after a steep and narrow climb on the roughly-paved Via Santa Caterina leading into the center of the medieval city. 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

189-624: 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. In 2007 , a professional race was spun off the event, inaugurally called Monte Paschi Eroica, won by Russian Alexandr Kolobnev . The race was held on 9 October; it started in Gaiole in Chianti and finished in Siena. Organizer RCS asked local cycling icons Fiorenzo Magni and Paolo Bettini to promote

216-499: The Chianti region. The longest and most arduous sectors are the ones in Lucignano d'Asso (9.5 km, 5.9 mi) and Asciano (11 km, 6.8 mi). 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. Race organizers were inspired by

243-739: The Three Days of De Panne (a one-day race, although its name retains a description of its former format) was added to the tour, and the Abu Dhabi Tour, having merged with the 2.HC ranked Dubai Tour , was rebranded as the UAE Tour . The World Tour ceased to be a ranking series, replaced in this regard by the UCI World Ranking . The UCI World Tour consists of 36 events. These events are made up from: In 2009 and 2010, only riders for ProTour teams and Professional Continental teams could earn points. When

270-708: The UCI Road World Cup , which was awarded on the basis of performance in ten selected one-day events. Both were replaced from the 2005 season by the UCI ProTour and UCI Continental Circuits . However, disputes between the UCI and ASO , the organisers of the Tour de France and other classics, and eventually with the organisers of the Tours of Italy and Spain , meant that by 2008 the ProTour

297-598: The cobbled classics in April. Swiss Fabian Cancellara holds the record with three wins. Also a three-time winner over the pavé of Paris–Roubaix and the cobbled Hilligen of Tour of Flanders , Cancellara rejected comparisons between the races, believing the "white roads" of the Strade "deserved appreciation in their own right". Thibaut Pinot described it as "the sixth Monument " of Classic road cycling because of its unique parcours, difficulty and prestige. Since 2015, there has been

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324-498: The inaugural event in 2015, and Dutch rider Annemiek van Vleuten has won the most editions, winning the 2019 and 2020 races. UCI World Tour The UCI WorldTour 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 annual ranking system based upon performances in these. The World Ranking

351-596: The previous edition . The race started in Gaiole del Chianti and ended in Piazza del Campo in Siena . The race was won by Cannondale 's rider Moreno Moser , the nephew of Francesco Moser . His team-mate Peter Sagan was second and Rinaldo Nocentini of Ag2r–La Mondiale was third. Moser attacked together with Juan Antonio Flecha with 17 km to go, chased down the four fugitives Michael Schär , Maxim Belkov , Giairo Ermeti and Aleksejs Saramotins , and attacked again for

378-652: The UCI had earlier asserted that the reinstatement of Katusha would result in demotion of another team, they eventually announced that there would be 19 ProTour teams for that one season. In 2015, there are only 17 teams, as there was no applicant for the 18th slot. For the 2017 season the UCI added 10 new events to the calendar, bringing the total number of events to 38. The new events are: Tour of California , Tour of Qatar , Abu Dhabi Tour , Tour of Turkey , Dwars door Vlaanderen , Omloop Het Nieuwsblad , Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race , London–Surrey Classic , Eschborn–Frankfurt City Loop and Strade Bianche . In 2019,

405-456: The WorldTour, has superseded the points allocations for this series of races as the official rankings table for the sport. Teams in italics are no longer active. Teams in italics are no longer active. 2013 Strade Bianche The 2013 Strade Bianche was the 7th edition of the international one-day cycling race Strade Bianche . The race was held on 2 March 2013, on the same route of

432-469: The atmosphere of the arrival in the Piazza del Palio." A women's race, the Strade Bianche Donne , was inaugurated in 2015. Part 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 (85 mi), containing 30 km (19 mi) of gravel roads spread over eight sectors. American Megan Guarnier won

459-463: 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

486-490: The highest rating for a non- World Tour single-day cycling event. Since 2016, Siena has hosted 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 . Although a young event, the race gained the status of an "instant classic ", garnering much media attention and soon becoming

513-451: The maiden event. Monte dei Paschi , 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 season. 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

540-462: The peloton in the early stages of the race. Belgian Tiesj Benoot 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 called the event a "Dante-esque contest" . The 2020 event

567-412: The race and earning a gravel sector named after him. In 2017 , the Strade Bianche was included in the UCI World Tour , 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

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594-477: The two most famous northern classics, uniting the peculiarities of the Tour of Flanders with its bergs (short stretches of steep hills), and Paris–Roubaix with its gruelling cobblestone sections. It has been called Italy's answer to Flanders' famous 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, RCS events director, explained before

621-467: Was also lengthened 9 km (5.6 mi) and one more gravel sector was added, taking the total unsealed sections to 57 km (35 mi). In 2014 , the start of the race moved to the hilly town of San Gimignano . In 2015 , 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 ,

648-526: Was devalued as a ranking method, as only one of the Monument events, and three other classics , remained under the auspices of the UCI. As a result, the UCI World Ranking was introduced, merging performances from both the ProTour and other prestigious events. At the start of 2011, the ProTour and World Ranking were fully merged again. The ranking system was re-branded as the 'World Tour', whilst 'ProTeam'

675-542: Was launched in 2009, (known from 2009–2010 as the UCI World Ranking ) and merged fully with its predecessor the UCI ProTour in 2011. UCI WorldTeams must compete at all events that were part of the tour prior to the 2017 expansion. Until the end of 2004, the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) maintained both the UCI Road World Rankings , which awarded results for all its sanctioned races, and

702-579: Was postponed to August 1 from its usual March schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic . The race starts and finishes in the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Siena . The route consists of 184 km (114 mi) over hilly terrain crossing the Crete Senesi in the central Tuscan province of Siena , including 11 sectors of gravel roads , totaling 63 km (39 mi) of dirt roads. The finish

729-500: Was retained as a registration category for professional teams. All ProTeams gain automatic entry to World Tour events. Despite finishing second in the team rankings in 2012, Team Katusha were initially refused a place in the top tier for 2013. After appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport , they were reinstated in February 2013, having already missed the 2013 Tour Down Under . Although

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