The long road back

Watching the first WorldTour race since March, you’d be forgiven for thinking that all the masks were protection from the dust, and the lack of roadside fans a reflection on the fierce Italian heat. In reality, these idiosyncrasies of a unique 14th edition of Strade Bianche were signs of the new normal as the sport bounced back from the COVID-19 crisis.

‘After five months of being at home it was definitely a shock to the system,’ says Hannah Troop, communications director at EF Pro Cycling. ‘The one thing that really struck me about this year’s Strade Bianche was walking into the Piazza del Campo in Siena. It was so strange to not see it full of fans like