Our preview of the fourth edition of the Strade Bianche Eroica which takes place on March 6.
Preview of this one-day UCI Europe Tour event
Although the Strade Bianche Eroica is only four years old, it has already established itself as a major one-day fixture on the early season calendar. The 190km route - 70km of which runs over gravel track (or sterrati) - will allow the riders to hone their skills in temperate conditions ahead of the Tirreno Adriatico and upcoming spring classics.
The race's finale on the Piazza del Campo in Siena is one of the most picturesque in the sport and Team Sky's very own Thomas Löfkvist will be looking for a repeat performance after romping to victory in 2009.
Here we take a closer look at the route the riders will face as they travel across Tuscany:
The picturesque town of Gaiole in Chianti has been chosen to see the peloton off once again and from there they head south to Pianella (16km) before hanging a right into Siena. The riders pop back out to the south of the city and the first of eight gravel sections appears at Colle Malamerenda (35km) - this one being the longest at 13.5km. The riders make it back onto solid ground at Lupompesi but three shorter gravel sections are to follow over the next 56.7km as they take on an anti-clockwise loop south of Buonconvento. During this phase of the race the riders will also have to climb 459m in 4km, with an average gradient of 5%, before they make it into Montalcino (72.6km).
Once they return to Buonconvento the route heads up to Monteroni d'Arbia (117.8km) and then east towards Asciano (132.4km) for gravel section No 5, which takes them all the way into Torre a Castello (143.9km). At 161.1km they make it back into Pianella and power over the three remaining sterrati sections before hurtling into Siena city centre for a finish to end all finshes on the Piazza del Campo.
