Roughly a quarter of the route is raced on white gravel roads – unpaved country lanes winding through the countryside of the Chianti region – from which the event gets its name.

The inaugural edition was won by American Megan Guarnier after distancing her teammate Lizzie Armitstead and Italian Elisa Longo Borghini during the final stretches of the race.

[10] Ruling Olympic road race champion Anna van der Breggen won the edition after a 17 km solo attack.

[12] The race is run over 136 km on undulating terrain and is characterized by the presence of white gravel roads; unpaved country lanes winding through the hills and vineyards of the Chianti region.

The narrow ascent contains steep sections of 16% followed by a short descent and a flat finish on Siena's illustrious Piazza del Campo.