2012 Strade Bianche: 14 Teams Invited

Fourteen teams have been invited to the 2012 Strade Bianche professional race on March 3rd. The start is in Gaiole in Chianti and the finish is in Piazza del Campo in Siena.

Each team will have 8 riders, the teams as follows:

UCI ProTeams:
Astana Pro Team (KAZ)
BMC Racing Team (USA)
Garmin – Cervelo (USA)
Lampre – ISD (ITA)
Liquigas – Cannondale (ITA)
Movistar Team (ESP)
Radioshack – Nissan (LUX)

UCI Professional Continental Teams:
Acqua & Sapone (ITA)
Colombia – Coldeportes (COL)
Colnago – CSF Inox (IRL)
Farnese Vini (GBR)
Project 1T4I (NED)
Rusvelo (RUS)
Team Type 1 - SANOFI (USA)

Past winners of the race:
2007: Alexandr Kolobnev
2008: Fabian Cancellara
2009: Thomas Lovkvist
2010: Maxim Iglinskiy
2011: Philippe Gilbert

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"Strade Bianche" Invitees

The fourteen teams invited to the "Strade Bianche" road race on March 5th are:
ACQUA E SAPONE
ANDRONI GIOCATTOLI
BMC RACING TEAM
COLNAGO – CSF INOX
DE ROSA – CERAMICA FLAMINIA
FARNESE VINI – NERI SOTTOLI
GEOX - TMC
HTC - HIGHROAD
LAMPRE - ISD
LIQUIGAS - CANNONDALE
OMEGA PHARMA - LOTTO
TEAM GARMIN - CERVELO
TEAM LEOPARD - TREK
TEAM TYPE 1

The race will be 190 km in length, beginning Gaiole in Chianti and finishing at the Piazza del Campo in Siena. The route will have 8 sections of "white roads" totaling 57 km of the 190 km route; the longest white road section is 13.5km. The "Strade Bianchi" road race was created by RCS Sports in 2007 to establish a one day "classic" type of pro race in Italy in the early season.

Past winners:
2010 Maxim Iglinskiy
2009 Thomas Lovquist
2008 Fabian Cancellara
2007 Alexandr Kolobnev


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Monte Paschi Strade Bianche, Eroica Toscana

The newly named "Monte Paschi Strade Bianche, Eroica Toscana", previously named "Eroica" is probably the only professional race in Italy that has as its roots in a course and event begun by amateur cyclists at the "L'Eroica" (more about this later on).

The Italians are trying to establish a new one day classic on the professional calendar to rival the traditional Spring classics. To accomplish this Monte Paschi Strade Bianche, Eroica Toscana offers the white gravel and shale roads of Tuscany rather than the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix. Past podium finishers:

2008

1° Fabian Cancellara (Sui)

2° Ballan (Ita)

3° Gerdemann (Ger)

2007

1° Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus

2° Ljungqvist (Swe)

3° Khalilov (Ukr)

The official presentation took place yesterday and the 3rd edition of the event will take place on March 7th. The course will be 190 km in length starting in Gaiole in Chianti and finishing in the piazza del Campo in Sienna. The route will have 8 sections of white roads totalling 57 km of the 190 km route.

The "L'Eroica", first organized in 1997, is an event that relives the heroic age of the "Giants of the Road". Participants ride on vintage racing bicycles wearing the wool jerseys on the "strade bianche" (white roads) which makes it possible to relive the atmosphere of heroic times of cycling. The event evolved through the years and began to allow more modern bikes but now the event has gone back to its roots of vintage-bikes-only format.

The next L'Eroica, for amateur cyclists, will be October 4, 2009. More details at the official website (also in English): http://www.eroica.it/

Photos: Simoni leading in 2007; remaining photos are of the 2008 professional Eroica

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