Strade Bianche, the wildly popular Italian classic contested over the white roads of Tuscany, is going to be even more interesting in 2024.
Officials confirmed new routes Tuesday for both the women’s and men’s courses to be contested March 2.
Dubbed as “Europe’s most southern northern classic,” the men’s race will be extended to 214.8km, the first time it’s longer than 200km since its inception in 2007.
“This year we wanted to make some changes to the route, and so we created this double circuit, which will increase the difficulty and mileage of both races, as well as give the fans at the roadside the chance to enjoy the show multiple times,” said RCS Sport director Mauro Vegni. “As a result of this decision, for the first time the men’s race will be longer than 200km. We will see how the race will develop.”
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That longer distance also brings the race closer to the elusive “monument” status for the five one-days that typically run about 250km.
The course changes will also be a crowd-pleaser for the fans packed in and around Sienna, as well as open up the race for more selection.
New finishing loop adds punch
Both races will also feature a new finishing loop ahead of the traditional finish into the piazza in Sienna that both the women and men will tackle.
The loop will feature two new gravel sectors and take on two of the existing sectors twice instead of once in a significant makeover for the Italian race.
The women’s race distance is roughly the same at 138km, but the route sees some changes to include the new finishing loop as well as a total of 12 sectors, a jump from eight last year.
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In total, the women will race over 40km of the white roads, while the men will trundle over 71km of gravel in 15 sectors instead of 11.
Last year’s Demi Vollering and Tom Pidcock are both expected to defend their respective titles.
Strade Bianche @CA_Ita 2024
THE ROUTE ️#StradeBianche pic.twitter.com/Dkhq8EGvAy
— Strade Bianche (@StradeBianche) January 30, 2024