A thunderbolt. This is the effect that Strade Bianche has on its suitors. Even rejected, even the lungs full of a white dust raised along the nine paths traced in toboggan in the Tuscan vineyard or still planted by the sadistic percentages of an arrival perched on the square of the Palio; they ask for more. Medieval beauty and place of arrival after 184 kilometers, Siena is well worth the effort.
“This race is the definition of Italy and cycling”, says Stefan Küng, five participations and a lot of memories on the clock. On Saturday March 5, the Swiss will admire these landscapes drawn by a god endowed with harmony from the standardized comfort of a hotel room in the Ile-de-France region. The Groupama-FDJ rider is indeed engaged the next day on Paris-Nice. “I even looked at the flights to see if it was possible to run both, but it will hurt a little to follow the Strades on TV. »
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Love cannot be explained, but it can be told. The history of Strade Bianche is that of a race born in 2007 from a copy-paste of the Eroicaevent for nostalgic fans with old-fashioned bikes (mounts made after 1987 prohibited) and wool jerseys. “Cycling needs something new”then sells Angelo Zomegnan, director of RCS, the organizing company of the Tour of Italy.
The French waited until the following year to ride on these steep white paths which gave the event its name. Julien Loubet is advancing as a pioneer. The Toulousain had the chance to raise his arms in his career, but he retains a special tenderness for this 32and square. “It’s one of my fondest memories. assures the former runner. When you arrive on the paths in the middle of the vineyards after a descent, you drive at 60 km/h and your hairs stand on end. »
“I wish we could have that in France”
Despite two punctures and a group of favorites gone without him, Julien Loubet finds a certain idea of cycling there. “The Strade breaks out of traditional racing patterns. It’s unconventional, unpredictable, nothing to do with a mountain stage where a team sets its pace. I am not surprised by its success. »
In 2008, Fabian Cancellara put his name on the charts. The king of cobblestones in Paris-Roubaix sets the trend. The beautiful Tuscany multiplies the courtiers. His list of winners shows the range of possibilities. It thus reveals a puncher adept at clear attack (Julian Alaphilippe in 2019), a trio of “always rolls” formed at the school of cyclo-cross (Zdenek Stybar, Wout Van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel) or even a crafty one who left at the right time (Moreno Moser in 2013).
Even the men of July and the Tour think they have a say. In 2021, Egan Bernal and Tadej Pogacar stroked victory before finishing 3and and 7and. If the Colombian is still recovering from a serious accident which occurred at the end of January, the outgoing double winner of the Tour de France prepared his case well in his Slovenian undergrowth by winning a cyclocross at the end of December. Useful for sharpening your riding technique. “The entry list is impressive. We see that it is more and more suitable for more complete runners like a Pogacar or a Roglic, if he lined up.notes a Benoît Cosnofroy impatient to discover “the Strade”.
The AG2R-Citroën rider likes cycling on the move, the one in force in Flanders, for example, between cobbled mountains and wind resistance along roads with a more industrial charm. “We won’t really have the same landscape on Saturday”smiles the former world champion in the hopes. “From what I know, the white paths are beautiful, difficult but without making the race dangerousobserves the Frenchman. A lot of organizers want to copy the Strade to spice up their course, but it’s not always so suitable. »
To believe that Chianti turns heads and inspires. In 2018, Paris-Tours is offering nine vineyard paths winding through the Vouvray vineyards. At Amaury Sport Organization (ASO), we assume inspiration. “Among the new races created in recent years, the Strade Bianche are the most successful, the only one that brings something new. If one day we found the ideal ground, I would like us to be able to have that in France”, confessed to Worldin 2018, the sports director of ASO, Thierry Gouvenou.
Rain, snow and runner
Some liked the revisit of a semi-classic promised (but not always) to sprinters, others less so. “It’s nothing like a road race”, gets angry a Patrick Lefevere in front of the ballet of punctures. Since then, the Quickstep manager no longer sends his men to Touraine. “The Italians have started a fashion, but only there you find paths like those of the Strade with such long climbs”notes Julien Loubet.
Barely a teenager, this event – whose female version has existed since 2015 – can already be seen in the mirror as the sixth great classic behind the five century-old “Monuments” namely Milan-San Remo, the Tour of Flanders, Liège- Bastogne-Liège and the Tour of Lombardy? According to a survey conducted by The Team among 381 runners and published on Thursday March 3, 53.5% see it as such, far ahead of the Amstel Gold Race and the Clasica San Sebastian (5.8%). “We would have to change its date for thatnuance Stefan Küng. It is in competition with Paris-Nice and certain big leaders cannot line up there because of this calendar. But otherwise, I see him taking on even more importance. »
No doubt because it is in tune with the times. Its assumed anachronism suits a modernity lacking spectacle. Here, it is no longer a question of efforts calculated by watts but of audacity, technique and courage. In 2018, the young Van Aert finished third but on foot, like a penitent on the slabs of the climb to the Palio in this UNESCO-listed setting.
That day, the rain had fallen on a fine blanket of snow and had filled the masochist with joy who always breaks through in the cycling enthusiast. On arrival, the main concerned revealed broad smiles behind mud masks. A Roman Bardet (2and) would even dwell on “a moment of pure cycling”. One year earlier, Tim Wellens gave the best reason for a runner to love the Strades. “It’s an honest race, said the Belgian. In the end, everyone has the place they deserve. »