The Strade Bianche one-day race is one of the most memorable in the cycling calendar, despite only being in it’s 12th edition in 2018.
The white gravel roads of Tuscany and the gruelling ups and downs of the parcours make it a sapping and arduous Classic despite falling well short of the distance of many of the northern Classics with just 184km for the men and 134km for the women.
The 2018 edition had added drama with it however, as much of Europe continued to suffer through arctic conditions, the course was turned into a mud bath by the rain and cold in the week beforehand.
The women’s race sets ahead of the men’s race, however both finish with a climb into Siena and descent into Piazza del Campo where the winner would be crowned.
Defending champions Michal Kwiatkowski (Team Sky) and Elisa Longo Borghini (Wiggle-High5) both return to try and take another victory.
Catch-up with highlights of both the men’s and women’s races in the video above or read the full reports for each race here and here.
Next up on UCI WorldTour calendar will be Paris-Nice for the men which begins on Sunday, while the women will take on the one-day Ronde Van Drenthe next weekend in the Netherlands.
