The classic cycle races are the most prestigious one-day professional road cycling races in the international calendar. Some of these events date back to the 19th century. They are normally held at roughly the same time each year. The five most revered races are often described as the cycling monuments.
Greg Van Avermaet is a retired Belgian professional cyclist. Considered one of the most versatile riders of modern cycling, Van Avermaet was a specialist of the classic cycle races, but has also won stages and the general classification in stage races, particularly when run on a hilly terrain, such as the 2016 Tirreno–Adriatico, and the 2018 Tour de Yorkshire. His strong sprint finish enabled him to win sprints of small lead groups, but he has also won races after solo breakaways.
Janneke Ensing is a Dutch former sportsperson, who competed in speed skating in the 2000s before becoming a cyclist, competing for seven different teams between 2009 and 2021.
The Strade Bianche is a road bicycle race in Tuscany, Central Italy, starting and finishing in Siena. First held in 2007, it is raced annually on the first or second Saturday of March. The name Strade Bianche stems from the historic white gravel roads in the Crete Senesi, which are a defining feature of the race. One-third of the total race distance is raced on dirt roads, covering 63 km (39 mi) of strade bianche, spread over 11 sectors.
Zdeněk Štybar is a Czech professional cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam Team Jayco–AlUla. While best known as a cyclo-cross racer, in 2011 Štybar began his professional road career while continuing to race cyclo-cross.
Ashleigh Moolman Pasio is a South African professional road bicycle racer, who rides for UCI Women's Continental Team AG Insurance–Soudal–Quick-Step. She competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the Women's road race, finishing 16th and in the Women's time trial finishing 24th.
Elisa Longo Borghini is an Italian professional road cyclist, who rides for UCI Women's WorldTeam Lidl–Trek.
Anna van der Breggen is a Dutch former professional road bicycle racer, who rode professionally between 2009 and 2021 for Team Flexpoint, Sengers Ladies Cycling Team, Rabo–Liv and SD Worx. She won the gold medal in the women's road race at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, and has won the Giro d'Italia Femminile on four occasions. In 2018 and 2020, she won the women's road race at the UCI Road World Championships.
Katarzyna "Kasia" Niewiadoma is a Polish racing cyclist, who rides for UCI Women's WorldTeam Canyon–SRAM. Among her eighteen professional wins are the Amstel Gold Race in 2019, the Trofeo Alfredo Binda-Comune di Cittiglio in 2018, and The Women's Tour stage race in 2017. She is a former national champion in both the Polish National Road Race Championships and the Polish National Time Trial Championships, winning both in 2016.
The Strade Bianche Donne(Strade Bianche Women), also named Strade Bianche Rosa by Italian media, is an annual professional women's road bicycle racing event in Tuscany, Italy. Roughly a quarter of the route is raced on white gravel roads – unpaved country lanes winding through the countryside of the Chianti region – from which the event gets its name.
The tenth edition of the Strade Bianche road cycling race was held on 5 March 2016, in Tuscany, Italy. Swiss Fabian Cancellara concluded his third win in the race. The race covered 176 km (109 mi), starting and finishing in Siena. It was part of the 2016 UCI Europe Tour, a 1.HC-ranked event.
The second edition of the women's Strade Bianche was held on 5 March 2016, in Tuscany, Italy. British world champion Lizzie Armitstead won the race, in bad weather, ahead of Katarzyna Niewiadoma and Emma Johansson.
The 2017 Strade Bianche was a road cycling one-day race that took place on 4 March. It was the eleventh edition of the Strade Bianche and was the fifth event of the 2017 UCI World Tour. It was the first time that the race was included in the UCI World Tour calendar.
The 2018 Strade Bianche was a road cycling one-day race that took place on 3 March 2018 in Italy. It was the twelfth edition of the Strade Bianche and the fifth event of the 2018 UCI World Tour.
The fourth edition of the Women's Strade Bianche was held on 3 March 2018. It was the first leg of the 2018 UCI Women's World Tour. The race was run in abysmal weather and was won by Dutch rider Anna van der Breggen of the Boels–Dolmans team, after an attack on the penultimate gravel sector of Colle Pinzuto at 17 km from the finish.
Liane Lippert is a German cyclist, who currently rides for UCI Women's WorldTeam Movistar Team.
The fifth edition of the Strade Bianche Donne was held on 9 March 2019. Dutch rider Annemiek van Vleuten won the race after breaking clear on the final gravel sector. Denmark's Annika Langvad finished second, Poland's Kasia Niewiadoma third. Starting and finishing in Siena, Italy, it was the opening event of the 2019 UCI Women's World Tour.
The seventh edition of the Strade Bianche Donne took place on 6 March 2021. The Italian race is the first event of the 2021 UCI Women's World Tour as the usual first race of season in Australia, the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was won by Chantal van den Broek-Blaak.
The 2022 Strade Bianche Donne was an Italian road cycling one-day race that took place on 5 March 2022. It was the 8th edition of Strade Bianche Donne and the first event of the 2022 UCI Women's World Tour. The usual first race of the season, the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race in Australia was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was won by the Belgian national champion Lotte Kopecky.
