Pezcyclingnews: Top Ride: Strade Bianche



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Jan 3, 2005
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This Saturday the 9th Strade Bianche heads off from San Gimignano to cross the ‘White Roads’ before finishing in the historic city of Siena. Our man in Italy, Alessandro Federico (and his bike), covered the last 20 kilometers to take in the final climbs and those dirt roads in his Tuscan homeland.Despite its short story the Strade Bianche is already one of the most important races in the spring calendar and its the first big race in Italy, opening an important month. March is full of cycling events with the WorldTour’s Tirreno Adriatico and the first of the historic classics: Milano Sanremo.Being new in the calendar (next Saturday will be the 9th edition) its route is not well known as is the course of Paris-Roubaix or the Ronde. To learn something more about it, I spent an entire day in the lands around Siena with my bike, crossing ancient corners and riding narrow, dirt roads; the air was chilly, the sun was shining and my good form was still to come. Lots of heavy breathing, but a lot of emotion too.The day starts on the paved road to find the first gravel in the Senese countryVineyards and barrels (full?) on the way to MontapertiRiding lessonsWithout doubt the taste of the day are the dirt roads. They really are white in color, as it suggests the name of the race (Strade Bianche in Italian means White Roads), they are compact and seem easy to ride. They differently from the Belgian cobbles...

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