The Coppa della Famiglia del Don is a unique three day Cup, taking place in three completely different countries, Italy, the Netherlands, and Norway.
Arezzo is host to its first stage, which will lead the peloton through the stunning landscape of Toscane. Main attraction will be the famous Strade Bianche, which means that the riders will need both cobbling and hilling skills to perform well.
The stage starts at A...
Read moreThe Coppa della Famiglia del Don is a unique three day Cup, taking place in three completely different countries, Italy, the Netherlands, and Norway.
Arezzo is host to its first stage, which will lead the peloton through the stunning landscape of Toscane. Main attraction will be the famous Strade Bianche, which means that the riders will need both cobbling and hilling skills to perform well.
The stage starts at Arezzo’s Piazza del Doumo and almost immediately after leaving the city, the riders encounter the first of many gravel roads, this one climbing up to the village of Ponticino. After this, the race will follow the main roads for a while. This doesn’t mean it’s an easy ride for the riders though, as the road is almost never flat.
The first of the big gravel sections is the Lucignano d’Asso section, which takes almost 12 kilometers and ends at a steep climb towards Montalcino. Now the route leads us to the toughest section of them all, San Martino in Grania, with gradients of up to 15%.
The riders will barely get a rest from this gravel stretch, as it leads up to the highest climb of the day, up to the village of Deini.
After a long descent, the stage will get its ‘grande finale’ with a finish in front of the Fortress of Arezzo. These final kilometers might favour the ‘puncheurs’ amongst those who are still fighting for victory at this stage of the race.
The winners will barely have time to celebrate, nor the losers to recover, because the next morning they will have to be fit and ready to start the second stage in the Netherlands.