Cancellera Wins Strade Bianche

Last updated : 06 March 2016 By CNS Staff

Fabio Cancellera has won the Strade Bianche race in Italy.

British rider Adam Yates was a non-starter for this 176km race which started and finished in Sienna.

Eight riders including Jesse Sergeant (AG2R-La Mondiale), Tom Van Asbroeck (LottoNL-Jumbo), Tiziano Dall'Antonia (Androni) and Lorenzo Rota (Bardiani-CSF). Lotto Soudal's Jens Debuscherre and Pim Ligthart. Marcin Mrozek (CCC Sprandi Polkowice) and Riccardo Stacchiotti (Nippo Vini Fantini) got into the break.

Through the second of sixteen sectosr of gravel track after just over 40 kilometres and the eight had a lead of around three minutes. 

The third sector which was 11.9kms long, split the peloton into three groups and reduced the gap to the leaders to just over a minute and with 106kms gone, everyone was back together.

A new break of Gianluca Brambilla (Etixx - QuickStep), Andriy Grivko (Astana), Brent Bookwalter (BMC), Maxime Monfort (Lotto Soudal) and Salvatore Puccio (Team Sky) formed before Damiano Cunego (Nippo- Vini Fantini) crashed  and fractured his wrist.

With 35kms to go, only Bookwalter, Brambilla, Monfort and Grivko were ahead with a lead of forty seconds. Brambilla put in a move to end the break.

World Champion Peter Sagan attacked on Sector Eight with a move that only Zdenek Stybar and Fabian Cancellera were able to match.

They joined Brambilla who stay on as Cancellera tried to get clear.

Brambilla got clear again taking a ten second lead onto the streets of Sienna

Under the flam rouge and  Cancellara and Stybar joined Sagan on the climb in the last eight hundred metres. Fabian Cancellera of Trek Segafredo timed his move to perfection and took the victory, his third Strade Bianche win, in 4.39.35 ahead of Zdenek Stybar, Gianluca Brambilla, Peter Sagan and Petr Vakoc.

Only eighty five riders finished the race.  

Lizzie Armitstead won the Women's race.