The Spring Classics head to a sunnier clime this weekend for Strade Bianche with the long stretches of white gravel in Tuscany a substitute for the cobbles of Belgium.
Strade Bianche has a short history but one that’s long on drama, from the gust of wind that blew riders off the road in 2022 to the muddy edition in 2018. If the sterrati stand in for pavé, the finishing climb into the Piazza del Campo in Siena is akin to the Mur de Huy.
Racing gravel on road bikes wasn’t a trend when the race started in 2007 but since then, it has become all the rage thanks in part to inspiration from this Italian race.
The 2024 edition signals the organisers’ intent to bring the race on par with the best of the Spring Classics – the first of five topics for discussion ahead of Strade Bianche.
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A new, longer course
Strade Bianche, the newest of the Spring Classics, was previously the shortest, too. The race has upped its ante for 2024 by exceeding 200 kilometres and adding three more gravel sectors for the men’s race, relegating Dwars door Vlaanderen to the list as the shortest WorldTour one-day race.
The new circuit includes two four-star sectors in the final 20km – a repeat of the Colle Pinzuto and Le Tolfe gravel. The change will both make the race even more selective and increase the chances of misfortune to punctures or crashes.
Whether the added distance will make the race more exciting or not remains to be seen. The race already had plenty of drama and whittled down the contenders to only a handful with the old course. More kilometres and more steep gravel climbs may only serve to delay attacks until the final circuit and make for more intriguing tactics or heroic comebacks.
The women’s race is only one kilometre longer but has an additional 9km of gravel using the same finishing circuit as the men’s. As for the men, the extra trips over the Colle Pinzuto and Le Tolfe sectors make the race significantly more difficult and favour climbers with off-road skills even more.
Should Strade Bianche be a Monument?
Extreme distances may not be necessary to get a worthy winner and an exciting race – the women’s races are great examples of how short races can be great. However, by adding 30 more kilometres, the Strade Bianche organisers appear to be trying to angle to be a sixth Monument.
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