Cycling: Strade Bianche is only eleven years old. The one-day race seems like a toddler compared to the classics in cycling. Milan-Sanremo is 111, Paris-Roubaix 122 years old. Nevertheless, fans of this sport look forward to Strade Bianche just as much as a toddler. If you're not quite sure whether you want to watch this race on Saturday, we'll give you the highlights of the past three years as an unbeatable pro argument.
Strade Bianche 2015: Stybar wins against all expectations
The ninth edition of Strade Bianche took place on March 7, 2015. Peter Sagan (Tinkoff-Saxo) and Fabian Cancellara (Trek) started the race as favourites. In the end, both of them didn't even make the top ten. At Monte Sante Marie the escapees were caught and a group with all the top favorites broke away. Then there was a tough selection. Sector by sector the group got smaller. Eventually only three professionals remained. Because of the final climb in Siena's old town, Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) was considered the favorite to win, but Zdenek Stybar (Etixx-Quick-Step) shook him off along with Greg Van Avermaet (BMC). Then he left the Belgian behind in winding Siena.
Strade Bianche 2016: Cancellara punishes Quick-Step's mistake
On March 5, 2016, Fabian Cancellara (Trek-Segafredo) would win Strade Bianche for the third and final time. Before the start, the Swiss was obviously one of the favorites again – and the experts were right. In a race dominated by Etixx-Quick-Step, he prevailed over last year's winner Zdenek Stybar and his teammate Gianluca Brambilla. The Italian already looked like the sure winner as he went into the final climb with a lead. But then Stybar attacked, Cancellara countered and the gap was closed. World champion Peter Sagan lost the connection. Cancellara won the sprint.
Strade Bianche 2017: Kwiatkowski keeps the trio at bay
In 2017, Michal Kwiatkowski (Sky) was allowed to celebrate just before the finish line. In front of a huge crowd on site and in front of the TV screens, he finished 15 seconds ahead of Greg Van Avermaet (BMC), 17 ahead of Tim Wellens (Lotto Soudal) and 23 ahead of Zdenek Stybar. All four determined the last quarter of the race before the Pole made off as a soloist. The chasing trio wasn't able to close the gap significantly. So Van Avermaet again only finished second. Like Peter Sagan, he's still waiting for his first win at Strade Bianche. Kwiatkowski could win for a third time in 2018 and draw level with cycling legend Cancellara.