On the sodden chalk roads of Tuscany, the 2018 Women’s WorldTour kicked off with Anna van der Breggen dropping her rivals to begin a period of Dutch dominance at the race
Words Giles Belbin
A moment in time
‘Hell is not enough of a word to describe the conditions today.’ That was the verdict of Canyon-Sram’s Kasia Niewiadoma after the 2018 Strade Bianche. She had just finished second in Siena for the third time in a row yet still had a smile on her face, reflecting that it was perhaps her destiny to be a perennial runner-up at what was fast growing into one of the most prestigious races on the women’s calendar.
‘It was an extremely tough race,’ she told Cyclingnews, ‘and I have a huge appreciation for every rider who managed to finish today.’
Held in early March, snow had hit the white roads of Tuscany in the days leading up to the race, but it was heavy rain and near-zero temperatures that met the peloton as it rolled out from Siena. Ahead of the 138-strong bunch was a 136km race that would take in 31km of gravel over eight sectors, the longest of which – Sector 5: San Martino in Grania – ran for 9.5km. But it was the last two sectors that were considered by most to be the toughest of the race, with the final 1.1km stretch of gravel featuring 18% grades and ending just 12km before the finish in Siena’s famous Piazza del Campo.
‘For me it is one of the best races on the calendar because it is hard and a little bit different,’ 2017 winner Elisa Longo Borghini said before the start. ‘Tuscany is such beautiful country and Siena is just a nice place to end a race.’
The heavy rain turned the gravel roads into a quagmire and made an already technically demanding race even more challenging.
‘It was difficult to make a difference on the really steep parts on the gravel sections,’ Olympic road race champion Anna van der Breggen said after the finish. ‘It was clay gripping your tyres.’
Losing Anna
It was just after halfway that the race ignited when three riders got away from the main bunch on the 9.5km Sector 5. Reigning Road Race World Champion Chantal Blaak, Alena Amialiusik and Ellen van Dijk made for a fearsome break and they maintained a healthy lead into the final quarter of the race, their margin approaching 50 seconds at one point. However, with Longo Borghini prevalent in the chasing bunch of select riders, Blaak and Van Dijk returned to the pack, meaning Amialiusik’s hopes of springing a surprise win were all but
