The name of Sanne Cant (Plantur-Pura) stands out on the women’s Strade Bianche participant list. “Two weeks after the cyclocross season it is very nice to be able to ride such a beautiful race,” says the three-time cyclocross world champion.
“It’s more difficult than it looks on TV, but I mostly enjoyed it,” says Sanne Cant enthusiastically after exploring the Strade Bianche.
“It’s a race I’ve dreamed about for a long time to ride. I never expected that dream to become a reality.”
Cant was riding in the field 2 weeks ago. “The day after Oostmalle I immediately left for Spain. I did endurance training there for a week on an internship. Every day I felt better.”
I ride down with less fear than the road runners. But that won’t make much difference on Saturday.
What advantage does Cant have as a cyclocross rider on the Tuscan gravel roads? “During the recon yesterday, I found myself riding down with less fear than the road runners.”
“But to say that it will make such a difference on Saturday may be a bit of an exaggeration.”
Cant was not only impressed by the gravel roads during the reconnaissance, but also by the Piazza del Campo, the picturesque arrival scene in Siena.
“The special thing was that there was nothing to see of crush barriers on the Piazza del Campo. You would hardly believe that a race would arrive there on Saturday.”
“The people in the Piazza looked at us and probably thought, ‘What are you doing here?’ It was just like we had made a mistake this week,” Cant laughs.
“Also Paris-Roubaix, but the cyclocross season remains the most important”
Cant will start on Saturday in the shirt of Plantur-Pura, the women’s team of the Roodhooft brothers.
“It is a mix of cyclo-cross riders (Cant and Kastelijn) and road cyclists (including Julie Van de Velde),” says Cant. “With the German Ronja Eibl there is also a mountain biker in our team.”
What expectations Cant have at the start on Saturday? “That is still difficult to estimate. We still have to discuss the division of roles.”
“We hope to achieve a good result with the team. Hopefully I can contribute to that.”
After the Strade Bianche there are still some great races on Cants’ program, such as Paris-Roubaix.
“It is very nice to have another 2 to 3 months on the road after the cross season,” says Cant. “But it’s not like I’m going to shift my focus from the field to the road in the coming years.”
“My contract also ends this year. I’m not working on that at all, but the cross season remains the most important.”
Live at Sporza:
- Sporza.be and Sporza app: Live with text updates from start to finish on this page, livestream from 11:35am.
- One: the broadcast starts at 11.35 a.m. and runs on Canvas from 12.55 p.m. On One you will get a repeat of the final phase from 1.30 pm.
