#Repost @pelotonmagazine ・・・ #pelotonshorts #uciwt #StradeBianche All the ingredients of racing in Tuscany can be seen in this image: a hillside vineyard, rows of elegant cypress trees and riders climbing one of the Italian region’s famous white roads—the strade bianche. These ancient gravel back roads are a defining feature of the Tuscan landscape and they’ve been used in cycling events for the past two decades. // It started with the 1997 Eroica Gran Fondo, contested by riders on vintage bikes and most of them wearing vintage kits. The concept was to recreate cycling’s so-called Heroic Era from the first half of the 20th century, when most races were ridden on dirt roads with steel bikes. // The gran fondo became so popular that the concept was adopted in 2007 as a professional race, first called the Monte dei Paschi Eroica in reference to its first sponsor, the Siena-based Monte dei Paschi, the world’s oldest bank, founded in 1472. The first edition was held in October, but the race moved the second year to early March, its now traditional date. // Renamed the Strade Bianche, the race has become an almost instant classic, so it was natural that with 10 years of races already held, it would be elevated this year to the UCI WorldTour—alongside the other March races organized by RCS, Tirreno–Adriatico and Milan–San Remo. RCS also puts on the Giro d’Italia. // Because of the Strade Bianche’s success, RCS started including some of Tuscany’s white roads in the Giro—such as the now legendary 222-kilometer stage 7 of the 2010 Giro from Carrara to Montalcino won by Cadel Evans. This image shows Sweden’s Gustav Larsson leading his then Saxo Bank teammate Richie Porte in a small chase group that would finish 1:42 behind the stage winner. // The 2017 Strade Bianche takes place on March 4 over a 175-kilometer course that starts and finishes in Siena and includes 11 sectors of white roads totaling some 62 kilometers. Montalcino, the hill town where that infamous Giro stage ended, will be reached after 57 kilometers of this year’s race. [Words: John Wilcockson | Image: Yuzuru Sunada] Presented by @irctireusa #FormulaPro
