Teams targeting Strade Bianche and Strade Bianche Women scouted the gravel roads of Tuscany before Saturday's race.

Jumbo Visma, Trek Segafredo, Movistar, Canyon Slam, Ineos Grenadiers, Lotto Soudal, AG2R Citroën, and a number of other riders will ride the main dirt sections of the race route on Thursday, beginning after Montalcino, with approximately 100 km long gravel section beginning after Montalcino was studied intensively.

Some riders also rode the short but steep final sections of Montaperti, Colle Pinuto, and Le Torfe. Also finishing the run was Victor Campenaerts of Lot Soudal (opens in new tab), who entered the center of Siena via Via Santa Caterina and checked the finish line on Saturday in Piazza del Campo.

On Friday, after overnight rain, all the riders headed out for a final easy ride to check the conditions on the gravel roads and to finalize tire pressures and equipment choices.

Most of the teams arrived in Tuscany on Wednesday, giving them plenty of time to prepare for Saturday's race. In just 15 years, the Strade Bianche has grown into a major goal for nearly every team in the men's and women's peloton.

In a rider survey conducted by the French newspaper L'Equipe, 53% of the riders agreed that Strade Bianche, along with Milan-San Remo, Tour de Flanders, Paris-Roubaix, Liege-Bastogne-Liege, and Il Lombardia, is the sport's sixth It is now clear that they believe it deserves to be designated as a Monument Classic.

With recent winners Mathieu Van Der Pol and Wout Van Art, as well as Tom Pidcock, who is suffering from a stomach ailment, absent, this year's Strade Bianche has the potential to beat big names like Taddei Pogachar and Julien Alaphilippe. There could be a number of potential competitors.

In Strade Bianche, bike skills play a big role in avoiding crashes and punctures, taking the best and fastest lines on gravel descents and corners, and holding position when the peloton is lined up for several hundred meters.

According to the Italian website BiciPro, Quick Step Alfa Vinyl will use 33mm Roval Alpinist tubeless wheels, and all teams will use tire pressures of approximately 5-5.2 bar for the front wheel and 5.5-5.5 bar for the rear wheel based on rider weight. 7 bar for the front wheel and 5.5 to 5.5 bar for the rear wheel. The exact tire pressure is a carefully guarded secret

in order to find the sweet spot between stickiness and speed.

Riders choose slightly different chainring sizes, with rear gears as low as 32-tooth sprockets to help on steep gravel sections, with the most-used gear in the middle of the block.

"Riding on gravel roads is similar to riding on ice. Don't be afraid to let the bike slip a little. Alberto Bettiol told La Gazzetta dello Sport, "You can't be aggressive with the steering and you need some luck. Alberto Bettiol told La Gazzetta dello Sport, "I recently contracted COVID-19 and was unable to attend local races.

Greg Van Avermaat explored the last five gravel sections of Strade Bianche with his AG2R Citroën teammates on Thursday, running the Strade Bianche 12 times and finishing second in 2015 and 2017, so he knows the thrills and risks.

"I love racing here, it was one of the most beautiful reconnaissance runs of the year and the weather wasn't too bad," Van Avermaert told the Belga News Agency.

"It helps to remember what the gravel roads are like. It's very pretty this year, and so far it looks like it will be one of the better competitions. Not too much gravel, nicely compacted."

Floris de Thier of Alpecin Phoenix has run Strade Bianche five times, finishing 13th in 2018 when cold rain turned Strade Bianche into a survival battle.

"In 2018 I discovered that when it is wet it is much less dangerous than when bone dry. The surface is the same, but without the layer of dust. That layer is dangerous and makes it slide the most," de Thier told Het Nieuwsblad.

"The weather is good. It looks like a little bit of rain on Friday, but I don't know if the course will change much before Saturday. In some sections the gravel is very loose and if the gravel is a bit thicker the corners are very dangerous and you have to be careful not to fall.

"Going around gravel bends is purely a matter of daring and riding skill. Some riders are agile enough to enter a corner without braking, while others brake quickly out of caution, even though braking is not necessary. So you have to take risks, but you also have to have the technique to take a good line. That makes a big difference in Strade Bianche."

Since the rain-slicked 2018 event, the gravel roads of Strade Bianche (known locally as "stellate") have become dry and dusty. The rescheduled 2020 event was held during the hot August weather, but this year's change in weather will bring easterly winds that will bring in cooler air and keep away the clouds that caused Friday's showers.

According to the local weather forecast, the temperature at the start of the women's race at 9:00 am is expected to be as low as 0°C, while the temperature at the end of the afternoon race is expected to be around 10°C.

Crosswinds could play a major role for both men and women. East winds are expected to blow at around 20 km/h and could become a headwind in the final 100 km of the race.

Wind will be a major factor on long exposed sections of gravel road across the treeless Creta Senese hills, such as the long San Martino in Grania gravel road section and the 11.5 km Monte Sante Marie section.

This wind can deter attacks or even spark an earlier selection if a team decides to go on the attack.

The spectacular gravel roads and rolling hills of Tuscany, as well as the uncertainties and aggressive racing, are part of the reason the Strade Bianche has achieved near-monument status in just 15 years.