Strade Bianche: Cancellara makes it three

Fabian Cancellara won his third Strade Bianche on Saturday, edging out last year’s winner Zdenek Stybar (Etixx-QuickStep) in a thrilling finale on the tight streets of Siena.

Stybar’s teammate, Gianluca Brambilla came home in third having done his best to soften up the lead group that had formed on the penultimate sector of dirt track. The other member of that group was Peter Sagan (Tinkoff), who rolled in behind for fourth.

The Italian race, first run in 2007, has quickly established itself as a popular event in the course of the Spring Classics, and a firm favourite in the eyes of Cancellara, who has now written himself into Strade Bianche legend. The race organisers promised to name a sector of the iconic dirt track after him if he took his third win, and the jubilant Swiss rider raised three fingers as he crossed the line before celebrating wildly with his camp and lifting his bike above his head.

"This year I really want to go out with a bang," Cancellara said. "I want to thank all my teammates for supporting me today, and all these years. This is just amazing!

"I knew that Stybar is a cyclo-cross guy, so I had to be careful for him. He won last year as well, and he is very good at this last climb. I am very, very happy. Third time…and now they will name a white gravel section after me, and that's exciting."

The 34-year-old was alive to the threat when Sagan attacked from a massively thinned-out bunch on the penultimate sector with just under 20km to go, forming the crucial selection. Sagan caught lone leader Brambilla, who had been in a four-man move in the second half of the race, Stybar joined, and Cancellara bridged across.

Etixx-QuickStep had the extra man but, unlike at the 2015 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, they didn’t come away empty-handed through tactical shortcomings - but rather Cancellara's superior strength and know-how.

As expected, Brambilla put in multiple attacks to soften up Sagan and Cancellara, and he actually managed to hold a lead from 5km to 500m to go. The Italian, however, buckled on the viciously steep climb up towards the Piazza del Campo and was cooked as he crested it. Cancellara and Stybar were soon round him and Cancellara, crucially, managed to lead through a sharp right-hand band with 100m to go. With the road heading downhill to the line, that was the moment he secured the victory, and Stybar was never going to get round.

"I made the pace on the final climb because I knew that Sagan would not do it because I saw him already in a little bit of difficulty. I knew that it was probably going to be Stybar and me, so I had to play like this," Cancellara said.

"This is special. I had to play at the end, it was a lottery. I knew I had to risk. I had trust in myself; it was experience. I knew that Etixx was going to play the team game and I just had to make sure that Brambilla did not take too much time.

"The most decisive moment was when Peter made the acceleration and I managed to jump up to him and Stybar. It wasn't a big collaboration between us because we are all big riders, plus Etixx had a team game to play. I think my work in the last 5 kilometers was risky, but it was the only way. It all worked out and I am proud."

A group of other pre-race favourites, including Alejandro Valverde, Greg Van Avermaet, and Jakob Fuglsang, rolled across the line disjointedly around half a minute later after giving chase ever since Sagan’s acceleration. Vincenzo Nibali and Michal Kwiatkowski were initially part of that chase group but fell away with 10km remaining.

How it happened

At the start in Siena the riders looked worryingly at the grey clouds and trees moving in the wind, knowing the conditions would make for an extra hard edition of the Strade Bianche.

The riders were wrapped up against the cold, with many wearing leg warmers and gilets. Peter Sagan (Tinkoff) was called to the front but kept his white rainbow jersey covered up with a black jacket.

The race rolled out of Siena on time at 11:00am, with Adam Yates (Orica-GreenEdge) the only non-starter. The early break of the day formed quickly with eight riders in the move. They were Jesse Sergeant (AG2R-La Mondiale), Tom Van Asbroeck (LottoNL-Jumbo), Marcin Mrozek (CCC Sprandi Polkowice), Tiziano Dall'Antonia (Androni Giocattoli), Lorenzo Rota (Bardiani-CSF), Riccardo Stacchiotti (Nippo Vini Fantini), and the Lotto Soudal duo of Jens Debuscherre and Pim Ligthart.

All the big-name favourites preferred to stay in the peloton as the riders fought the stiff head wind and the early sectors of dirt roads helped the break open a lead of four minutes.

The third sector of dirt road lasted 11.9km and was the longest of the race. It sparked the first natural selection, with the peloton splitting into three groups after a surge by Etixx-QuickStep. The break was only a minute ahead but they were allowed more freedom as the peloton caught its breath behind. On the fifth and sixth sectors of dirt road the rolling hills and tough gradients took their toll, with Rota dropped from the break as the gap fell below a minute. The race returned to ‘gruppo compatto’ after 106km of racing.

Other riders immediately attacked and another move went away, with Gianluca Brambilla (Etixx - QuickStep), Andriy Grivko (Astana), Brent Bookwalter (BMC), Maxime Monfort (Lotto Soudal) and Salvatore Puccio (Team Sky) all ready to play a strategic role for their team leaders.

Damiano Cunego (Nippo- Vini Fantini) crashed hard on a sector of dirt road, reportedly fracturing his wrist. Other riders also crashed or suffered punctures, quickly taking them out of the race. Only 60 or so riders remained in the peloton as the crosswinds also shredded the peloton.

Upfront, as the 11.5km-long sector six began to bite, first Grivko lost contact and then Puccio had a mechanical problem, seemingly dropping his chain. He dropped out of the break and was swept up by the remains of the peloton. Another problem unfortunately lost him his place in the peloton but as the gap closed, his teammate Lars Petter Nordhaug tried to jump across to the break. He got to within 20 seconds but eventually sat up.

Only the strongest teams had several riders I the front group at this point, with 35km to go, with Sagan surprisingly lacking support in numbers. Bookwalter, Brambilla, Monfort and Grivko – who had managed to got back on – were left to hang out front but their lead was down to 40 seconds as the road headed back towards Siena on normal roads. It was a moment of hesitation before the decisive final three sectors of dirt roads on nasty climbs.

On the Monteaparti sector of dirt roads – number 7 – Brambilla attacked to split the break and eventually distance Bookwalter to power on alone to be up front to help Stybar. It was a perfect move.

Behind, with 19km to go, as the riders tasted the dirt of sector 8, the race exploded when Sagan attacked from the chase group. He blew the group apart and put his cards on the table. Only Stybar and eventually Cancellara managed to get up to him, as the others struggled behind.

The four worked together with Brambilla giving his all. Behind Fuglsang tried to jump across from an eight-rider group but was marked by a Cancellara’s teammate Jasper Stuyven. With 14.4km to go Cancellara surged clear but was quickly chased down by Stybar with Sagan and Brambilla on his wheel.

Cancellara chased down when Brambilla threw in his first softener, but when the Italian went away he was allowed to go clear, and held a lead of around 5-10 seconds all the way to the town centre under the flame rouge. Cancellara and Stybar gapped Sagan on the sharp climb in the final 800 metres and, once past the ailing Brambilla, the man they call ‘Spartacus’ used his know-how and positioning to get the edge on his rival, and prevent him from equaling his win tally in the race.

Full Results

Swipe to scroll horizontally
#Rider Name (Country) TeamResult
1Fabian Cancellara (Swi) Trek-Segafredo4:39:35
2Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Etixx - Quick-StepRow 1 - Cell 2
3Gianluca Brambilla (Ita) Etixx - Quick-Step0:00:04
4Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff Team0:00:13
5Petr Vakoc (Cze) Etixx - Quick-Step0:00:34
6Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team0:00:37
7Diego Ulissi (Ita) Lampre - Merida0:00:41
8Tiesj Benoot (Bel) Lotto SoudalRow 7 - Cell 2
9Lars Petter Nordhaug (Nor) Team SkyRow 8 - Cell 2
10Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team0:00:50
11Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana Pro Team0:00:52
12Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing Team0:01:53
13Jay McCarthy (Aus) Tinkoff Team0:02:02
14Daniel Oss (Ita) BMC Racing TeamRow 13 - Cell 2
15Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro TeamRow 14 - Cell 2
16Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar Team0:02:22
17Bob Jungels (Lux) Etixx - Quick-Step0:02:24
18Gianni Moscon (Ita) Team Sky0:02:25
19Matteo Trentin (Ita) Etixx - Quick-StepRow 18 - Cell 2
20Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Team SkyRow 19 - Cell 2
21Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Astana Pro Team0:02:26
22Robert Gesink (Ned) Team LottoNl-JumboRow 21 - Cell 2
23Grega Bole (Slo) Nippo - Vini Fantini0:02:41
24Davide Rebellin (Ita) CCC Sprandi Polkowice0:05:15
25Tomasz Marczynski (Pol) Lotto SoudalRow 24 - Cell 2
26Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Trek-Segafredo0:05:18
27Julien Vermote (Bel) Etixx - Quick-StepRow 26 - Cell 2
28Bart De Clercq (Bel) Lotto Soudal0:05:25
29Jan Bakelants (Bel) AG2R La Mondiale0:05:27
30Matteo Busato (Ita) Southeast - Venezuela0:05:30
31Luke Durbridge (Aus) Orica-GreenEdgeRow 30 - Cell 2
32Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bardiani CSF0:05:35
33Sébastien Turgot (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale0:05:37
34Manuele Boaro (Ita) Tinkoff Team0:05:45
35Jens Keukeleire (Bel) Orica-GreenEdge0:05:48
36Gatis Smukulis (Lat) Astana Pro Team0:07:55
37Bakhtiyar Kozhatayev (Kaz) Astana Pro TeamRow 36 - Cell 2
38Maxime Monfort (Bel) Lotto SoudalRow 37 - Cell 2
39Davide Vigano (Ita) Androni Giocattoli - SidermecRow 38 - Cell 2
40Michal Golas (Pol) Team SkyRow 39 - Cell 2
41Simone Ponzi (Ita) CCC Sprandi Polkowice0:08:01
42Andrey Amador (CRc) Movistar Team0:12:18
43Salvatore Puccio (Ita) Team Sky0:12:58
44Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Tinkoff Team0:13:00
45Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Lotto Soudal0:13:01
46Alessandro De Marchi (Ita) BMC Racing TeamRow 45 - Cell 2
47Damiano Caruso (Ita) BMC Racing Team0:16:02
48Pim Ligthart (Ned) Lotto SoudalRow 47 - Cell 2
49Bertjan Lindeman (Ned) Team LottoNl-Jumbo0:16:04
50Dayer Quintana (Col) Movistar TeamRow 49 - Cell 2
51Sébastien Minard (Fra) AG2R La MondialeRow 50 - Cell 2
52Jean-Pierre Drucker (Lux) BMC Racing TeamRow 51 - Cell 2
53Eduard Michael Grosu (Rom) Nippo - Vini FantiniRow 52 - Cell 2
54Daniele Bennati (Ita) Tinkoff TeamRow 53 - Cell 2
55Jasha Sütterlin (Ger) Movistar Team0:19:43
56Hugo Houle (Can) AG2R La Mondiale0:21:20
57Timo Roosen (Ned) Team LottoNl-JumboRow 56 - Cell 2
58Guillaume Bonnafond (Fra) AG2R La MondialeRow 57 - Cell 2
59Kiel Reijnen (USA) Trek-SegafredoRow 58 - Cell 2
60Jack Haig (Aus) Orica-GreenEdgeRow 59 - Cell 2
61Marcin Mrozek (Pol) CCC Sprandi Polkowice0:21:23
62Jesse Sergent (NZl) AG2R La MondialeRow 61 - Cell 2
63Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Southeast - Venezuela0:24:15
64Przemyslaw Niemiec (Pol) Lampre - MeridaRow 63 - Cell 2
65Charles Planet (Fra) Team Novo NordiskRow 64 - Cell 2
66Mirko Selvaggi (Ita) Androni Giocattoli - SidermecRow 65 - Cell 2
67Tiziano Dall'Antonia (Ita) Androni Giocattoli - SidermecRow 66 - Cell 2
68Federico Zurlo (Ita) Lampre - MeridaRow 67 - Cell 2
69Martijn Verschoor (Ned) Team Novo NordiskRow 68 - Cell 2
70Eros Capecchi (Ita) Astana Pro TeamRow 69 - Cell 2
71Tom Van Asbroeck (Bel) Team LottoNl-JumboRow 70 - Cell 2
72Mike Teunissen (Ned) Team LottoNl-JumboRow 71 - Cell 2
73Daniel Martínez (Col) Southeast - VenezuelaRow 72 - Cell 2
74Primoz Roglic (Slo) Team LottoNl-JumboRow 73 - Cell 2
75Lukasz Owsian (Pol) CCC Sprandi PolkowiceRow 74 - Cell 2
76Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing TeamRow 75 - Cell 2
77Tony Martin (Ger) Etixx - Quick-StepRow 76 - Cell 2
78Christian Knees (Ger) Team SkyRow 77 - Cell 2
79Marco Bandiera (Ita) Androni Giocattoli - SidermecRow 78 - Cell 2
80Marco Frapporti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli - SidermecRow 79 - Cell 2
81Oscar Gatto (Ita) Tinkoff TeamRow 80 - Cell 2
82Alessandro Tonelli (Ita) Bardiani CSF0:30:37
83Giorgio Cecchinel (Ita) Androni Giocattoli - SidermecRow 82 - Cell 2
84Marco Coledan (Ita) Trek-Segafredo0:30:40
85Eugert Zhupa (Alb) Southeast - Venezuela0:31:43
OTLPrzemyslaw Niemiec (Pol) Lampre - MeridaRow 85 - Cell 2
OTLCharles Planet (Fra) Team Novo NordiskRow 86 - Cell 2
OTLMirko Selvaggi (Ita) Androni Giocattoli - SidermecRow 87 - Cell 2
OTLTiziano Dall'Antonia (Ita) Androni Giocattoli - SidermecRow 88 - Cell 2
OTLFederico Zurlo (Ita) Lampre - MeridaRow 89 - Cell 2
OTLMartijn Verschoor (Ned) Team Novo NordiskRow 90 - Cell 2
OTLAndriy Grivko (Ukr) Astana Pro TeamRow 91 - Cell 2
OTLTom Van Asbroeck (Bel) Team LottoNl-JumboRow 92 - Cell 2
OTLMike Teunissen (Ned) Team LottoNl-JumboRow 93 - Cell 2
OTLDaniel Martínez (Col) Southeast - VenezuelaRow 94 - Cell 2
OTLPrimoz Roglic (Slo) Team LottoNl-JumboRow 95 - Cell 2
OTLLukasz Owsian (Pol) CCC Sprandi PolkowiceRow 96 - Cell 2
OTLTaylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing TeamRow 97 - Cell 2
OTLTony Martin (Ger) Etixx - Quick-StepRow 98 - Cell 2
OTLChristian Knees (Ger) Team SkyRow 99 - Cell 2
OTLMarco Bandiera (Ita) Androni Giocattoli - SidermecRow 100 - Cell 2
OTLMarco Frapporti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli - SidermecRow 101 - Cell 2
OTLOscar Gatto (Ita) Tinkoff TeamRow 102 - Cell 2
OTLAlessandro Tonelli (Ita) Bardiani CSFRow 103 - Cell 2
OTLGiorgio Cecchinel (Ita) Androni Giocattoli - SidermecRow 104 - Cell 2
OTLMarco Coledan (Ita) Trek-SegafredoRow 105 - Cell 2
OTLEugert Zhupa (Alb) Southeast - VenezuelaRow 106 - Cell 2
DNFYves Lampaert (Bel) Etixx - Quick-StepRow 107 - Cell 2
DNFHubert Dupont (Fra) AG2R La MondialeRow 108 - Cell 2
DNFMatteo Montaguti (Ita) AG2R La MondialeRow 109 - Cell 2
DNFDaniele Ratto (Ita) Androni Giocattoli - SidermecRow 110 - Cell 2
DNFSerghei Tvetcov (Rom) Androni Giocattoli - SidermecRow 111 - Cell 2
DNFValerio Agnoli (Ita) Astana Pro TeamRow 112 - Cell 2
DNFMichele Scarponi (Ita) Astana Pro TeamRow 113 - Cell 2
DNFSimone Andreetta (Ita) Bardiani CSFRow 114 - Cell 2
DNFEnrico Barbin (Ita) Bardiani CSFRow 115 - Cell 2
DNFNicola Boem (Ita) Bardiani CSFRow 116 - Cell 2
DNFStefano Pirazzi (Ita) Bardiani CSFRow 117 - Cell 2
DNFLorenzo Rota (Ita) Bardiani CSFRow 118 - Cell 2
DNFLuca Sterbini (Ita) Bardiani CSFRow 119 - Cell 2
DNFManuel Quinziato (Ita) BMC Racing TeamRow 120 - Cell 2
DNFVictor De La Parte (Spa) CCC Sprandi PolkowiceRow 121 - Cell 2
DNFFelix Grosschartner (Aut) CCC Sprandi PolkowiceRow 122 - Cell 2
DNFNikolay Mihaylov (Bul) CCC Sprandi PolkowiceRow 123 - Cell 2
DNFMaciej Paterski (Pol) CCC Sprandi PolkowiceRow 124 - Cell 2
DNFMattia Cattaneo (Ita) Lampre - MeridaRow 125 - Cell 2
DNFRoberto Ferrari (Ita) Lampre - MeridaRow 126 - Cell 2
DNFSacha Modolo (Ita) Lampre - MeridaRow 127 - Cell 2
DNFManuele Mori (Ita) Lampre - MeridaRow 128 - Cell 2
DNFXu Gang (Tpe) Lampre - MeridaRow 129 - Cell 2
DNFJens Debusschere (Bel) Lotto SoudalRow 130 - Cell 2
DNFRafael Valls Ferri (Spa) Lotto SoudalRow 131 - Cell 2
DNFJorge Arcas Pena (Spa) Movistar TeamRow 132 - Cell 2
DNFMarc Soler (Spa) Movistar TeamRow 133 - Cell 2
DNFFrancisco Ventoso (Spa) Movistar TeamRow 134 - Cell 2
DNFAlessandro Bisolti (Ita) Nippo - Vini FantiniRow 135 - Cell 2
DNFDamiano Cunego (Ita) Nippo - Vini FantiniRow 136 - Cell 2
DNFPier Paolo De Negri (Ita) Nippo - Vini FantiniRow 137 - Cell 2
DNFIuri Filosi (Ita) Nippo - Vini FantiniRow 138 - Cell 2
DNFAntonio Nibali (Ita) Nippo - Vini FantiniRow 139 - Cell 2
DNFRiccardo Stacchiotti (Ita) Nippo - Vini FantiniRow 140 - Cell 2
DNFAlexander Edmondson (Aus) Orica-GreenEdgeRow 141 - Cell 2
DNFDamien Howson (Aus) Orica-GreenEdgeRow 142 - Cell 2
DNFChristopher Juul Jensen (Den) Orica-GreenEdgeRow 143 - Cell 2
DNFChristian Meier (Can) Orica-GreenEdgeRow 144 - Cell 2
DNFManuel Belletti (Ita) Southeast - VenezuelaRow 145 - Cell 2
DNFEnrique Sanz (Spa) Southeast - VenezuelaRow 146 - Cell 2
DNFMirko Tedeschi (Ita) Southeast - VenezuelaRow 147 - Cell 2
DNFMirko Trosino (Ita) Southeast - VenezuelaRow 148 - Cell 2
DNFEnrico Battaglin (Ita) Team LottoNl-JumboRow 149 - Cell 2
DNFThomas Leezer (Ned) Team LottoNl-JumboRow 150 - Cell 2
DNFKevin De Mesmaeker (Bel) Team Novo NordiskRow 151 - Cell 2
DNFJoonas Henttala (Fin) Team Novo NordiskRow 152 - Cell 2
DNFBrian Kamstra (Ned) Team Novo NordiskRow 153 - Cell 2
DNFDavid Lozano Riba (Spa) Team Novo NordiskRow 154 - Cell 2
DNFJavier Megias (Spa) Team Novo NordiskRow 155 - Cell 2
DNFStephen Clancy (Irl) Team Novo NordiskRow 156 - Cell 2
DNFAndrew Fenn (GBr) Team SkyRow 157 - Cell 2
DNFPeter Kennaugh (GBr) Team SkyRow 158 - Cell 2
DNFAdam Blythe (GBr) Tinkoff TeamRow 159 - Cell 2
DNFNikolay Trusov (Rus) Tinkoff TeamRow 160 - Cell 2
DNFStijn Devolder (Bel) Trek-SegafredoRow 161 - Cell 2
DNFMarkel Irizar (Spa) Trek-SegafredoRow 162 - Cell 2
DNFJulien Bernard (Fra) Trek-SegafredoRow 163 - Cell 2
DNFYaroslav Popovych (Ukr) Trek-SegafredoRow 164 - Cell 2
DNFFilippo Pozzato (Ita) Southeast - VenezuelaRow 165 - Cell 2

Thank you for reading 5 articles in the past 30 days*

Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read any 5 articles for free in each 30-day period, this automatically resets

After your trial you will be billed £4.99 $7.99 €5.99 per month, cancel anytime. Or sign up for one year for just £49 $79 €59

Join now for unlimited access

Try your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Latest on Cyclingnews