Over numerous clouds of dust, true predators, voracious for success, make their way. Falls, attacks, spectacle, epic. Pure cycling. It is what represents Strade Bianche (Eurosport 2, 1:50 p.m.), one of the most exciting classics on the calendar that, despite having only 16 editions, for many authoritative voices is considered the ‘sixth monument’. For this season, the white roads of Siena and its surroundings will return to the televisions, to the retinas of the fans, with a absolutely stellar lineup: eight of the last nine champions will start.
Who gives more luster to the test before its start is neither more nor less than the author of the most brutal attack ever seen in the history of the Strade, which ultimately gave him victory: Mathieu van der Poel. The Dutchman will make his debut in 2023, but part in the pole of all the pools after winning his fifth cyclocross world title last February and for his enormous effectiveness in the big events. In their eleven participations in monuments, only one was left out of the top-10 (13th in San Remo 2020), while in the Strade he adds 15th and the aforementioned victory.
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In contrast to its reliability, since Wout van Aert and Tadej Pogacar made their resignation official (uncomfort in previous days in the case of the Belgian and logistical question of the Slovenian, since the next day he had to be in Paris-Nice) the figure of a Julian Alaphilippe who has a love-hate relationship with the race: he won in 2019 and last year he suffered a terrible fall, somersault included, which left him out of the battle. His performance, after the last season was a shadow of his unquestionable quality, is a mystery, although as a point in his favor he has the added confidence that his recent victory in Faun-Ardèche.
If we look further, the list of applicants is as varied as it is extensive: Tim Wellens, Tom Pidcock, Tiesj Benoot, Alexey Lutsenko, Sergio Higuita, Alberto Bettiol, Alexandr Vlasov, Matej Mohoric, Greg van Avermaet… In Spanish, they will be like best tricks Carlos Rodríguez, that last year he went wild on Italian soil with a memorable chase over Pogacar; Pello Bilbao, Alex Aranburu and Carlos Verona. The route, identical to the usual one: 63 km of sterrato (distributed among eleven sections) for a total of 184 and with the emblematic finale in Piazza del Campo of siena.
Reissue of the Van Vleuten-Kopecky duel?
It wasn’t MotoGP, although it seemed like it. The ‘hack’ that Lotte Kopecky land was endorsed by the inside of the curve from the entrance to the finish line to Annemiek van Vleuten in the Strade Bianche last year was worthy of the premier category of motorcycling, a maneuver that, at that time, helped the Belgian to achieve the best victory of her record on the road (it is an accomplished pistard). This Saturday (136 km with eight gravel sections) they can meet again in the Italian race, where they start as top favourites, before a large cast of rivals (Vollering, Niewiadoma, Persico, Ludwig, Moolman…) where two big names like Marta Cavalli and Elisa Longo Borghini will not be. Mavi Garcia, best Spanish asset.
