Despite heading into just its third edition in 2017, the women's Strade Bianche is a premiere event that draws many of the sport's top names to Tuscany for an early-season WorldTour contest.
127km in length, Strade Bianche starts and finishes in Siena, with plenty of challenges along the road. Multiple sections of dirt and gravel roads and a barrage of short but tough climbs in the run-in to an uphill finale practically guarantee exciting racing. The parcours strikes just the right balance to encourage longer-range attacks while still making solo escapes a challenge.
Elizabeth Deignan is the defending champion, winning the 2016 edition of the race ahead of Katarzyna Niewiadoma after settling for runner-up honours in the inaugural running of the event behind Megan Guarnier.
