Taking place on 4 March, the UCI has officially confirmed the inclusion of the race in the 2017 WorldTour calendar.
Milan, 4 August 2016 – The Strade Bianche, the youngest of RCS Sport’s races with just 10 editions, is one of the most beloved and followed races worldwide. Now the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) has confirmed that the “northern Classic at the most southern point in Europe” is officially in the WorldTour calendar for the next three years, starting with the 2017 edition through 2019. The race amongst the gravel roads of Tuscany joins the four other RCS Sport/La Gazzetta dello Sport WorldTour races: the Giro d’Italia, Milano – Sanremo, Tirreno – Adriatico and Il Lombardia.
The race has grown in stature since its launch 10 years ago thanks to the blend of its captivating scenery and unique route, much loved by racers and fans alike as it passes through the Crete Senesi and its gravel roads to its epic finale in Piazza del Campo in Siena.
If the importance of a race is determined by the calibre of riders it attracts, then the Strade Bianche has to be considered one of the great international classics; since its birth, the best riders have challenged themselves to take glory. The last winner, Fabian "Spartacus" Cancellara, has won it three times (2008, 2012 and 2016) and he will now have a section of the race’s iconic white gravel roads named after him – the Strade Bianche di Monte Sante Marie, one of the most testing of the entire race.
The Strade Bianche will also be the first race of the 2017 Women's UCI WorldTour and, together with the Granfondo Strade Bianche, will deliver an exceptional weekend of sport, culture and good food.