When will the Strade Bianche Donne 2020 be held? The Siena municipal leaders hope that they are facing a postponement rather than an outright abandonment of this year’s event as the current seriousness of the Coronavirus outbreak hits Italy’s sporting calendar and its public services.
Can the UCI and organisers RCS Sport find a suitable date? Given the relative paucity of racing in the women’s schedule in general, one would think it should be ‘relatively’ straightforward. But then issues of team capacity have to be factored in – will teams have enough fit riders to go towards the end of the season?
Logic suggests that the week after the World Championships would be sensible, with the finish in Siena’s Piazza del Campo a more or less straight shoot down the motorways from Switzerland, driveable in about six to seven hours.
The Giro dell’Emilia Internazionale Donne Elite takes place on Saturday 3rd October with the GP Bruno Beghelli Internazionale Donne the following day. Given that, could the women face the white gravel roads on 30th September or the 1st October, before moving 100 miles or so to Bologna?
The following weeks, beginning Monday 5th and Monday 12th October, are a possibility, too, before some of the peloton *might* fly to the Gree-Tour of Guangxi for the final World Tour event of the season. It’s currently scheduled for 20th October, but with the Tour of Chongming Island having already fallen off the calendar, it remains to be seen whether Guangxi goes ahead either.
When Alexandr Kolobnev won the first men’s professional edition of Strade Bianche, it was held in the first week of October 2007 so there is a precedent.
A post-Worlds date offers the new champion an extra race to show off the rainbow jersey, which is something a sponsor might value highly, especially if there is any prospect that the rider will be heading to a different team for 2021.
A dusty autumnal Strade Bianche Donne could be just about the most beautiful race of the season.