Strade Bianchi with guest writer Sean H

Sean rides with CICC and we have almost forgiven him for being a triathlete (says an ex sock avoider). He made Strade bianche while I wimped out with kidney stones and other excuses. I sorely regretted not going – especially after I saw his pics and heard of his advnture.

A big thanks to Matt for allowing me to invite myself to write a guest article for Sur le Rivet….

Doing the Gran Fondo Strade Bianche had been on my bucket list for at least 5 years. Finally, I got a chance to compete after it was pushed back, due to Covid, from it’s usual slot in March/April to September. And, what a perfect time too to spend a week’s holiday in late summer Tuscan-sunshine!
Just a quick intro with regard to the race – it’s the Italian equivalent of Paris-Roubaix except the cobbles/pavé of the ‘Hell of the North’ have been replaced with gravel sectors but with some really vicious climbs of 12%, 14%, 16% and up to 18% but more on those later. When it’s dry it’s very very dusty and when it’s wet it looks like cycling in a bucket of plaster! There were two distances available – Gran Fondo 139km and Media Fondo 86km.
It starts and finishes in Siena but to be able to cross the line in the Piazzo del Campo (home of the famous Palio horse race) was special.

After plenty of research, YouTube videos, watching the pros race on TV in March and listening to the Eurosport commentators talk bike tech I figured out the best bike set up for me. I took my aluminium framed Canyon Endurace bike but added harder-wearing 28mm Continental 4 Seasons tyres (to regular aluminium rather than deep section carbon wheels) plus Slime self-sealing inner tubes as opposed to trying a tubeless set up. Plus a couple of spare regular tubes! With an aluminium bike frame there was hopefully less chance that Air France baggage handlers would break it en route despite it being in its Scicon travel bag…
With a couple mid-season triathlons under my belt, 130km of CCC78’s Randonée de St Fiacre the weekend before and a ‘très bonne performance’ from my ‘teste de forme’ for my médical certificate I felt I was at least in good shape to get to the start line.
After picking up my race number etc the day before I went out for an hour’s ride to test one of the sectors which wasn’t too far from our hotel. It was a bit of a shock to the system for what was about to come…
Race Day:
8am start on a beautiful sunny morning in Siena with another 4,500 cyclists about 98% who were Italian… Ciao Belli.
First 20km was rolling downhill terrain with everybody seeming to be gunning it to get to the first gravel sector in front. Not for me… The first 2km gravel section was flat but within 50m people had started puncturing which amazed me how quickly it was happening. There were support motorbikes with spare wheels, tyres etc but chances of them getting to you were slim in my honest opinion. It seemed to me that quite a few people hadn’t sufficiently prepared their bikes for such a race but who am I to judge.

There were a total of 8 gravel sectors ranging from 1km up to 9.5km in length with difficulty ranging from manageable (OK, just the 2km section above) to completely and utterly brutal. And to finish up cobbles on a 16% slope into Siena…
In total there was 30km of gravel and, fyi, for the Gran Fondo, my Garmin said I did just over 2,000m of climbing.
My good friends at 44:5 Cycling Tours in Nîmes gave me some very sage advice…. “Save yourself in the first 100km as the last 40km are vicious…”! HT: John and Gerry – you weren’t joking for sure! Every few km in the last 40 there was a nasty nasty climb and half of them on gravel. I’d already, along with quite a few others, started badly cramping after about 90-95km – may be due to the fact that it was 32°C?! There were 3 refuelling stations on route but I could never seem to get quite enough fluids in me. Thank you to the nice lady on the side of the road refilling our bidons from her gardening hose pipe. Grazie Mille.
By the time the last couple of gravel sections arrived I had to walk the odd-100m or so to get up the last parts. Try getting out of the saddle and pedalling up 14-18 pct slopes on gravel – it’s near impossible without the back wheel fishtailing all over the place and your legs seizing up.

*Strade Biance punishment for the mortals*

Luckily, I escaped unscathed with no punctures nor mechanical issues. I only had one near-coming off the bike as my front wheel jack-knifed in some loose gravel but managed, just, to stay upright – it was the bloke I nearly took out who wasn’t so happy. Que Cazo!
My girlfriend came out to meet me at the start of sector 7 and she was very lucky I didn’t steal her rented e-bike…. But, a friendly face and a big smile helped in a big way; for the last 20km I needed every ounce of mental and physical energy that I could get.
It was great to have people lining the streets of Siena urging us on and up the cobbles after we had gone under the flame rouge. Turning into the Piazzo del Campo was one of the best feelings in the world, especially with my girlfriend, who managed to turn up the watts on her e-bike (and by going a shorter route on normal roads), was able to be there at the finish line.

A couple of weeks after it was ‘reassuring’ to see Sonny Colbrelli in bits/flood of tears at the end of winning Paris-Roubaix because that is exactly what happened to me. A very emotional arrival but the pain of the previous 6.5 hours was worth every second!
As the saying goes “a picture paints a thousand words…” so I hope the photos below convey the beauty (and brutality) of the day. I could not recommend this sportif more highly; one of the best things I have ever done. And, after a good few post-race beers, a bottle or two of Chianti Classico, we then had a few days on the beach at Forte dei Marmi which were oh so enjoyable.

Cheers Sean