Male Team 01 Aug
Strade Bianche
184 Kilometers
The highest tier of men’s professional cycling (UCI WorldTour + UCI Women’s WorldTour) restarts with the Strade Bianche classic, opening a vast calendar of Italian racing for the Movistar Team in the ‘2020 2.0’ season, towards next October’s Giro d’Italia. To open their schedule in the country, the Blues will take on what many consider the ‘Sixth Monument’, with its gravel road sections initially scheduled for early March – and postponed due to the outbreak of a pandemic still present in most parts of the world.
The 184km route in and around Siena includes eleven ‘sterrato’ sections. As usual, those sectors in the first half of the race are longer, while the second one contains steeper roads, more decisive for the final outcome. A longer section no. 8, Monte Sante Marie (130 > 141km), will, though, create the first real selection, its demanding roads certain to cover the riders in dust, in a stark contrast with the mud in the late winter.
A succession of short, difficult hills afterwards will be followed by three steep, final gravel sectors: Vico d’Arbia (160km), Colle Pinzuto (164km) and Le Tolfe (173km), after which only the main favourites will be at the front. The finish is placed at the heart of Siena, with the brutal ramp of Via Santa Caterina (16% max.) just before the finish at the Piazza del Campo, this time (sadly) with no fans around.