Date | Early March |
---|---|
Region | Tuscany, Italy |
English name | Strade Bianche Women |
Local name(s) | Strade Bianche Donne (Italian) |
Discipline | Road |
Competition | UCI Women's World Tour |
Type | One-day race |
Organiser | RCS Sport |
First edition | 2015 |
Editions | 3 (as of 2017) |
First winner | Megan Guarnier (USA) |
Most wins | No repeat winners |
Most recent | Elisa Longo Borghini (ITA) |
The Strade Bianche Donne (Strade Bianche Women), also named Strade Bianche Rosa by Italian media, is a professional women's road bicycle racing event in Tuscany, Italy.
It is held on the same day as the men's race, in early March, on much of the same roads but at a shorter distance.
The race has been part of the UCI Women's World Tour since 2016.
The Strade Bianche Donne was first organized in 2015, following the success of the men's event, the Strade Bianche - Eroica Pro, that was created in 2007. The first edition was won by American Megan Guarnier, after distancing her team mate Lizzie Armitstead and Italian Elisa Longo Borghini on the final stretches of the race.
The race starts in San Gimignano and finishes on Siena's illustrious Piazza del Campo, both UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The first edition was run over a distance of 103 km on hilly terrain crossing the province of Siena. The route is characterized by the presence of white gravel roads; unpaved country lanes winding through the hills and vineyards in Tuscany, Central Italy. The women's race features five gravel sectors totalling 57 km.