Positive Finish for Sunweb at the Strade Bianche

Positive Finish for Sunweb at the Strade Bianche

Positive Finish For Team Sunweb

Cycling fans all around the world love this time of year, with the 'cobbled Classics' owning this end of the annual calendar. 3rd of March this year allows Siena, ITALY, plays host to the long list of UCI WorldTour Teams and riders. The Strade Bianche will showcase more troublesome road terrains that will test all the skills of these top riders!

 

11 years since the first, the Strade Bianche has become famous for its dirt sections, uneven surfaces and and gravel provide some intense riding which has given this Classic it's gripping and tense vibe.

"The men’s route – which is 184km long – includes 11 gravel sectors, totalling over 60km over the course of the whole race. Most feature in the middle of the race, with sectors 5-8 lasting 11.9km, 8km, 9.5km and 11.5km respectively and all crammed in between 110km and 42km to the finish line." - Cycling Weekly

Giant's Team Sunwebb were aiming high with top expectations, with last years Giro D'Italia Champion Tom Dumoulin (Ned) finishing in 21st just 6 mins after the winner Lotto Soudal's Tiesj Benoot (Bel) who finished with a 5:03:33. 2 seconds behind finished KRAGH ANDERSEN Søren (DEN) who finished 2 places behind team mate Dumoulin in 23rd. The Men's team had 4 DNF [Did Not Finish] & a OTL [Outside Time Limit].

Giant | Sunweb have invested heavily into both the men's team and the women's, although slightly shorter in distance, 136km & 8 sectors - the riders still had one tough ride ahead with 31.4km on gravel roads - 23% of the course. The race has also been a UCI Women's World Tour level ride since 2016! Team Sunweb had 2 riders finish with in the top 20 & 1 top 10; 

  • 9th VAN DIJK Ellen (NED)  [earning 40 points]
  • 16th LIPPERT Liane (GER) [earning 5 points]
  • 17th BRAND Lucinda (NED) [earning 5 points]

Men's Strade Bianche: Previous 3 winners

2017: Michal Kwiatkowski
2016: Fabian Cancellara
2015: Zdenek Stybar

Women’s Strade Bianche: Previous 3 winners

2017: Elisa Longo Borghini
2016: Elizabeth Deignan
2015: Megan Guarnier

 

REFERENCES:

Cycling Weekly:

http://www.cyclingweekly.com/tag/strade-bianche

UCI Results:

http://www.uci.ch/road/results/

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