March cycling events to mark on the calendar
March is packed with some of the most anticipated cycling and triathlon events of the year.
Strade Bianche, IronMan Lanzarote, the massive cycle touring event Bilbao-Bilbao. These are just a few examples of what usually moves cycling in March, with both professional events and events for cycle touring lovers that deserve to be marked on the calendar. Here we present 6 that you should not forget to circle in red.
Index
Strade Bianche
Although it may seem the Strade Bianche has been with us for a long time, its first edition did not arrive until 2007. This race, inspired by other historic races such as Paris-Roubaix and the Ronde van Vlaanderen, has in a very short time become one of the most coveted one-day classics, with the epic gravel sectors running through Tuscany. The last edition was won by Mathieu van der Poel, followed by Alaphilippe and the recently injured Egan Bernal. On Saturday 5 March an exciting edition will take place, bringing together much of the field of specialists on this kind of demanding terrain. The Strade Bianche is guaranteed spectacle.
IronMan 70.3 Lanzarote
Lanzarote is one of the most brutal islands for practising any kind of outdoor sport, which is why the Club La Santa Ironman Lanzarote 70.3 is always highly anticipated, probably the triathlon event par excellence on the island. On 19 March, participants will once again enjoy this triathlon, which never disappoints.
Paris-Nice
After the Tour de France, Paris-Nice is the French stage race par excellence. Known as the Race to the Sun, it is one of the great races in the top category of the UCI calendar, slowly approaching its centenary (its first edition was held in 1933).
In the last two years we have seen the German Maximilian Schachmann take the crown, although over the last 20 years there has been no clear dominator, with 17 different winners and only 3 riders repeating victory (to the aforementioned German we must add Alberto Contador and Alexander Vinokourov). That said, if there is one historic great dominator it is the Irishman Sean Kelly, who won up to 7 consecutive editions of Paris-Nice in the 1980s.
We will be able to enjoy this stage race from 6 to 13 March.
Milan-San Remo
La Classicissima returns with its 293 km route on 19 March, with the return of the Passo del Turchino to this one-day classic. Like Paris-Nice, it is a UCI WorldTour race, on a par with the great one-day races such as the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix or Il Lombardia.
This race, born in 1907, stopped being dominated by Italians in the 1950s (bear in mind that most of the participants up to then were from the Italian peninsula), and since 1954 only 15 Italian riders have managed to take the win in almost 70 years. Nor has it had a great dominator in the last 20 years, where the only rider to repeat the title has been Óscar Freire, winner in 2004, 2007 and 2009.
However, the king of Milan-San Remo is none other than the Belgian Eddy Merckx, who with his 7 victories in a period of 10 years surpassed the historic Italian rider Costante Girardengo, who between 1918 and 1928 won the classic up to 6 times.
Volta a Catalunya
The Volta a Catalunya is one of the great veterans of Spanish stage races. In 2022 it will be the 101st edition, held from 21 to 27 March. Although the routes have not yet been revealed, the start and finish locations of each stage have been announced, with towns such as L’Escala, Sant Feliu de Guíxols, la Seu d’Urgell, la Pobla de Segur, Barcelona and Perpignan. Perpignan in particular will return to form part of a stage of the Volta a Catalunya after more than 60 years without a presence in the great Catalan tour. A Volta a Catalunya in which many of the great riders on the WorldTour circuit will surely take part.
Bilbao-Bilbao
The quintessential cycle touring event in Bilbao will hold its own bike festival on 27 March, for its 33rd edition. There are 3 routes of different distances (85, 115 and 125 km respectively), suitable for any bike lover to enjoy the roads of Bizkaia. The longest route passes some of the most popular climbs, such as Andraka, Unbe, Artebakarra, Gerekiz, Morga or Vivero. It is also one of the most affordable cycle touring events, at 25 euros for federated riders and 30 for non-federated riders.
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