Strade Bianche 2013 [FULL RACE](flemish)

March 2, 2013

Strade Bianche 2013 – Gaiole in Chianti – Siena : 188 km

It is one of the newest races on the international calendar, yet the Strade Bianche on the twisting, hilly dirt roads of southern Tuscany, has quickly become a modern classic, a race big name riders such as Fabian Cancellara and Cadel Evans want to win and one most riders look forward to riding. This year’s race will be part of a spectacular weekend of racing in Italy, with RCS Sport organising Strade Bianche on Saturday March 2, with the Roma Maxima –including a taste of Roman cobbled roads and the finish at the Coliseum, the day after on Sunday March 3. This year’s Strade Bianche race again follows the established 190km route from Gaiole in Chianti to the spectacular Piazza il Campo in the heart of Siena. In between the riders cover eight sections of dirt roads for a total of 57.2km, almost a third of the total race distance. Many sections include some steep climbs and even steeper descents through the Chianti and Brunello vineyards, creating a finally balanced race between the pure classics riders and the more agile climbers. The races heads south from Gaiole in Chianti to Siena and then deep into the stunning rolling hills around Montalcino, San Giovanni and San Giorgio.

Moreno Moser became the first Italian to win the Strade Bianche race after executing a perfect Cannondale Pro Cycling team strategy with fellow young talent Peter Sagan that gave the Italian squad a rare one-two ahead of Rinaldo Nocentini (Ag2r-La Mondiale).

Moser seems to carry the burden of a famous cycling name with ease, sharing the aggression and power of his famous uncle Francesco and the rest of the Moser family. He was not afraid to take his chance on the penultimate section of dirt road after almost five hours of racing, knowing that Cannondale could count on Sagan for the climb to the finish and any eventual sprint.

He went clear of the front group with a surge in speed at the start of the dirt road section. He swept up Juan Antonio Flecha (Vacansoleil-DCM), and quickly dropped the tired Spaniard before crossing to the remains of the break of the day.

Aleksejs Saramotins (IAM Cycling), Maxim Belkov (Katusha) and Michael Schär (BMC) were still working well together and Moser wisely let them stay on his wheel and only surged clear on the final steep section inside the final kilometre. The chasers were closing the gap and had Moser in sight but he powered away and then dived down into Piazza del Campo like a horse about to win the Palio, crossing the line with his arms in the air.

“I’ve always thought this race suited me. I like selective races because I know I’m competitive when it starts to hurt,” Moser said after spraying his Tuscan tifosi with the winner’s Spumante.

“On the dirt roads, it’s all down to yourself and what you have in your legs. You can’t worry about tactics too much in this race. I went because it was the right thing to do. I got a gap, looked back and then went for it. Me and my uncle are different kinds of riders but I suppose we’re similar in lots of ways too, especially in how we race.”

2012 winner Fabian Cancellara (Radioshack-Leopard) tried to inspire a chase and close the gap but Sagan followed him like a shadow and he was forced to concede defeat to the talented young Cannondale combo.

“We knew Peter would be marked closely today and so he helped me behind, closing down the attacks. I’ve got to thank all the team today. They all worked hard to help me in.”

How it unfolded

A total of 79 riders finished this year’s Strade Bianche, with the strong wind making the 188km and five hours in the saddle especially hard.

Most were excited about riding a unique race and the bunch chased down the early attacks and stayed together until the sight of the Renaissance Siena skyline and the first section of dirt road.

The breathtaking view inspired Michael Schär (BMC) and he was quickly joined by Aleksejs Saramotins (IAM Cycling), Maxim Belkov (Katusha) and Giairo Ermetti (Androni) to form the break of the day.

The four covered 44.8km in the first hour and quickly opened a gap of four minutes after the first section of dirt road. The gap grew to a maximum of 10:50 after 69km and the second section of dirt roads near Buonconvento. However the chase was underway behind and picked up after the feed zone at the 106km mark.

The 11.5km fifth section of dirt road after 130km usually creates the key selection in the race and with Cannondale doing the work, the peloton split as the gap came down to 4:50.

Flecha tried a valiant but illogical lone chase but became stuck in no-man’s land between the two groups, using up valuable energy. Everyone else was waiting for the final two sections of dirt road.

Cancellara looked strong and hungry for a third victory but had little team support. Thomas Dekker (Garmin-Sharp) was up there, while Cadel Evans was happy to play the role of BMC domestique for Greg Van Avermaert.

They were all perhaps waiting for Sagan and Cannondale to play their cards. Yet when Moser went, nobody got on his wheel. It was the moment the race was won.

Moser swept up Flecha and then dropped him on the final section of dirt road with a powerful surge while sat in the saddle. He crossed to the tired breakaway inside the final ten kilometres, while Sagan sat on Cancellara’s wheel, following him all over the road to dissuade any chase.

Moser stayed cool up front, waiting for the final climb. He knew he had to win with Sagan so strong behind and did a perfect ride, accelerating away from the breakaway on the 18 per cent climb, able to enjoy every moment of solo victory in the stunning Piazza del Campo.

Results :
1 Moreno Moser (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling 5:01:53
2 Peter Sagan (Svk) Cannondale Pro Cycling 0:00:06
3 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) Ag2R La Mondiale 0:00:07
4 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) RadioShack Leopard
5 Aleksejs Saramotins (Lat) IAM Cycling
6 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team
7 Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus) Katusha
8 Francesco Reda (Ita) Androni Giocattoli
9 Giampaolo Caruso (Ita) Katusha 0:00:10
10 Maxim Belkov (Rus) Katusha 0:00:13
11 Przemyslaw Niemiec (Pol) Lampre-Merida 0:00:15
12 Simone Ponzi (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:00:17
13 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Movistar Team
14 Maxim Iglinskiy (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:00:19
15 Andrey Amador Bikkazakova (CRc) Movistar Team 0:00:21
16 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Merida
17 Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar Team 0:00:23
18 Tom Jelte Slagter (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team
19 Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
20 Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:00:27
21 Michael Schar (Swi) BMC Racing Team 0:00:31
22 Matthias Brandle (Aut) IAM Cycling
23 Oscar Gatto (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 0:00:44
24 Riccardo Chiarini (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 0:01:34
25 Pavel Brutt (Rus) Katusha 0:01:39
26 Sébastien Reichenbach (Swi) IAM Cycling
27 Francois Parisien (Can) Team Argos-Shimano
28 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 0:01:43
29 Franco Pellizotti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli
30 Lars Petter Nordhaug NO Blanco Pro Cycling Team
31 Fredrik Kessiakoff SW Astana Pro Team
32 Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Spa) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:01:58
33 Marco Marcato (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:02:48
34 Kristjan Koren (Slo) Cannondale Pro Cycling
35 Rob Ruijgh (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
36 Sébastien Delfosse (Bel) Crelan-Euphony
37 Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Movistar Team
38 Sonny Colbrelli (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox
39 Andrea Pasqualon (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox
40 Thomas Rohregger (Aut) RadioShack Leopard
41 Mauro Finetto (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia
42 Thomas Dekker (Ned) Garmin-Sharp
43 Paul Martens (Ger) Blanco Pro Cycling Team
44 Angel Madrazo Ruiz (Spa) Movistar Team
45 Elia Favilli (Ita) Lampre-Merida 0:02:53
46 Giairo Ermeti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli 0:06:20
47 Reto Hollenstein (Swi) IAM Cycling 0:06:47
48 Rohan Dennis (Aus) Garmin-Sharp 0:06:51
49 Dominic Klemme (Ger) IAM Cycling 0:06:56
50 Alessandro Vanotti (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:07:25
51 Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling 0:08:08
52 Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Cannondale Pro Cycling
53 Robert Hunter (RSA) Garmin-Sharp 0:11:07
54 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin-Sharp
55 Boy Van Poppel (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
56 Baptiste Planckaert (Bel) Crelan-Euphony
57 Alessandro Malaguti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli
58 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) RadioShack Leopard
59 Manuel Quinziato (Ita) BMC Racing Team
60 Pirmin Lang (Swi) IAM Cycling
61 Steven Cummings (GBr) BMC Racing Team
62 Brian Vandborg (Den) Cannondale Pro Cycling
63 Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) RadioShack Leopard 0:11:20
64 Matthew Busche (USA) RadioShack Leopard 0:11:48
65 Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing Team
66 Marcel Wyss (Swi) IAM Cycling
67 Matteo Di Serafino (Ita) Androni Giocattoli
68 Daniele Pietropolli (Ita) Lampre-Merida
69 Aleksandr Kuschynski (Blr) Katusha
70 Pim Ligthart (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
71 Wesley Kreder (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
72 Tanel Kangert (Est) Astana Pro Team 0:11:53
73 Stijn Steels (Bel) Crelan-Euphony 0:12:02
74 Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team 0:12:16
75 Klaas Sys (Bel) Crelan-Euphony 0:17:33
76 Marco Canola (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox
77 Matteo Pelucchi (Ita) IAM Cycling 0:17:43
78 Christophe Premont (Bel) Crelan-Euphony 0:17:46
79 Nicola Boem (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox 0:17:49