STRADE BIANCHE
A MODERN CLASSIC
STRADE BIANCHE HAS BECOME ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT EVENTS IN THE WORLD. PROCYCLING LOOKS AT WHAT MAKES THE RACE SO SPECIAL
WRITER ADAM BECKET IMAGE GRUBER IMAGES
The Piazza del Campo is no stranger to sporting events. It hosts the Palio di Siena, a horse race with medieval origins. Ten horses and their riders thunder around the tight square for three laps, in a terrifying spectacle that often lasts less than two minutes, and riderless horses are a common sight. The ‘modern’ race dates back to 1633, emerging from earlier races across the whole city, and various fighting events which took place in the square in the preceding centuries.
“If we talk about beauty, I believe that the white roads of Siena and L'Eroica are unique and unrepeatable”
Gianc arlo Brocci
Cycling fans know the Piazza from the finish of Strade Bianche, which comes after riders have ascended the vertiginous Via Santa Caterina. The race, like the Palio, also emerged out of an earlier event: L'Eroica Strade Bianche, the heroic race of the white roads, an amateur event that began in 1997 and spawned a professional offshoot in 2007.
This modern classic allows heroes of the peloton to emerge: riders who can conquer the white roads, the eponymous gravel sectors. Beethoven’s Eroica Symphony is often credited as the first Romantic work. The Tuscan Eroica is certainly romantic as well as heroic, taking its protagonists across the most beautiful parts of Chianti, the dramatic landscape providing a beautiful backdrop for the action and evoking past eras of cycling.
The founder of the original amateur event, Giancarlo Brocci, is clear on why Strade Bianche is unique in the modern cycling calendar: “It is heroic, because it has rediscovered those magnificent roads without asphalt where the special qualities of the rider still makes the difference, such as skill, courage, dexterity, deciding at a glance, the ability to suffer.”
Brocci continues: “Obviously, the race setting is also unique: the magnificent landscapes surrounding Siena, where these roads have been preserved. The dust or the mud, on rainy days, revive the legend of the golden age of cycling, making for fantastic photos that transmit heroism and quickly travel around the world, striking those who see them and making the feat impressive for each of the protagonists and for the teams they represent.