Dutch rider Van Vleuten on the double in Strade Bianche women’s race
Dutch rider Annemiek van Vleuten won the Strade Bianche one-day classic women's race for the second year in a row on the Piazza del Campo in Siena on Saturday.
The pack of riders pedal through a dusty gravel road during the one-day classic cycling race Strade Bianche (White Roads) on August 1, 2020 around Siena, Tuscany. . AFP/Marco BERTORELLO
The 37-year-old Mitchelton-Scott rider crossed 22 seconds ahead of Margarita Garcia Canellas of Ale BTC Ljubljan with the Spaniard having led for much of the 136km race over four hours through the rolling hills and white gravel roads of Tuscany.
American Leah Thomas of Equipe Paule Ka was third fastest at 1min 53sec as elite cycling got back in the saddle after five months following the coronavirus lockdown.
Originally scheduled for March 7, the Strade Bianche was run on its famous white dirt roads with temperatures in the high 30s Celsius in the heat of the Tuscan summer.
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