Strade Bianche returns in its usual early March spot this weekend on the signature white gravel roads of the region that give the race its name. The hilly Italian Classic has rapidly built up a reputation for dramatic racing, with calls for it to become the sixth Monument never far away.
The 18th men’s edition will enlivened by the presence of the 2022 champion Tadej Pogačar, who returns as he builds for his Giro d’Italia debut in May, setting up an enticing battle with last year’s winner, Tom Pidcock.
Both riders won the race with long lone attacks, with the Slovenian hitting out with 50km to go in 2022 and Pidcock with 51km to go in 2023.
Prior to that, winners had left it until later in the race to make their move. In 2021, Mathieu van der Poel left it until the steep slopes of the Via Santa Caterina, the final climb that takes the riders into the finish square in Siena, to attack and drop his rivals.
Neither Wout van Aert nor van der Poel are on the start list this year, although 2019 winner Julian Alaphilippe is.
In the women’s race, which starts early in the morning, SD Worx are sending two previous winners in Demi Vollering and world champion Lotte Kopecky. However, they will have to contend with a resurgent Marianne Vos (Visma-Lease a Bike), along with the strength in depth of Lidl-Trek.
Despite not being classified as a Monument, many within cycling have called for Strade to be elevated to the status of one over the years. Pidcock’s coach, Kurt Bogaerts, is among them.
“It’s quite iconic and is the closest you can come to the old-fashioned style of racing on dirt roads,” he said. “The finish is quite nice, as is the environment, that part of Italy is a really great place. I know that doing well in that race is something he Pidcock] would like to do several times. There are other races he would like to win once, but I think he wouldn’t say no to a second win there. It means a lot to him.”
Strade Bianche 2024 key information
Date: Saturday, 2 March
Location: Siena, Italy
Start: 08:40 GMT (women) 10:15 GMT (men)
End: 12:58 GMT (women) 16:05 (men)
2023 winners: Demi Vollering (women), Tom Pidcock (men)
TV: Discovery+/Eurosport
Strade Bianche 2024 route
For the first time, the men's race exceeds 200km, going 215km in fact. There are 15 gravel sectors in amongst that distance, totalling 71km. Meanwhile, the women's race stays about the same, at 137km, with over 40km of gravel across 12 sectors
As with Paris-Roubaix, the gravel sectors are given a star ranking indicating their difficulty, with five star sectors considered the hardest. Approximately 50 kilometres from the finish, the five-star Monte Sante Marie sector has proven to be the launching point for the race winning attacks in the men’s race for the last two years running.
Tom Pidcock responded to an acceleration from EF Education- EasyPost’s Alberto Bettiol on the sector last year before attacking over the top of the Italian’s move and soloing to the line. Monte Sante Marie is the place to attack if you want to stand a chance of going alone into the Piazza del Campo in Siena.
Strade Bianche 2024 riders to watch
Tom Pidcock
Ineos Grenadiers
*****
In 2023, Pidcock powered to victory with a 51km solo effort to the line. So far in 2024, he has finished sixth in the general classification at the Volta ao Algarve before entering the Classics and Opening Weekend at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.
Julian Alaphilippe
Soudal Quick-Step
***
The French puncheur won the race in 2019 and finished second the following year during the Covid-affected season, to Wout van Aert. Alaphilippe struggled for form due to illness and injury in 2023 and only managed 43rd. He will be looking to bounce back.
Tadej Pogačar
UAE Team Emirates
*****
The 2022 champion returns to Strade Bianche and will spearhead a strong UAE Emirates squad. Similarly to Pidcock, a race like the Tuscan Classic is tailor made to Pogačar’s strengths. As well as his 2022 victory, Pogačar finished seventh in 2021.
Demi Vollering
SD Worx-Protime
*****
Last year’s winner is a solid bet again. The Dutchwoman took sixth in 2021 before a slight relapse with her 12th place finish in 2022. Vollering took victory last year and will be one of two cards to play for SD Worx once again at the weekend.
Lotte Kopecky
SD Worx-Protime
*****
The world champion will be expected to challenge at the sharp end. The Belgian won the race in 2022 before returning in 2023 and battling it out in a sprint finish with Vollering, her own team-mate, for the win. Ultimately, Kopecky took second place so will be out to reclaim the top step on the podium this time.
Elisa Longo Borghini
Lidl-Trek
****
The Italian champion has never finished lower than eight at Strade Bianche, a race she has tackled seven times. Champion in 2017, Longo Borghini's performance at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad hinted at her good form. A strong Lidl-Trek team will look to take the fight to SD Worx.
Strade Bianche 2024 start lists
Men
Ineos Grenadiers
PIDCOCK Thomas
ARENSMAN Thymen
THOMAS Geraint
HEIDUK Kim
KWIATKOWSKI Michał
PUCCIO Salvatore
SHEFFIELD Magnus
Alpecin-Deceuninck
HERMANS Quinten
CONCI Nicola
GOGL Michael
HOLLMANN Juri
RIESEBEEK Oscar
VERGALLITO Luca
VERMEERSCH Gianni
Arkéa-B&B Hotels
ALBANESE Vincenzo
DELAPLACE Anthony
GUGLIELMI Simon
HUYS Laurens
LEDANOIS Kévin
VAUQUELIN Kévin
VENTURINI Clément
Astana Qazaqstan
VELASCO Simone
FEDOROV Yevgeniy
GAROFOLI Gianmarco
GAZZOLI Michele
GRUZDEV Dmitriy
KUZMIN Anton
SCHELLING Ide
Bora-Hansgrohe
HIGUITA Sergio
ALEOTTI Giovanni
HERZOG Emil
KÄMNA Lennard
KOCH Jonas
LIPOWITZ Florian
MARTÍNEZ Daniel Felipe
Cofidis
MARTIN Guillaume
CHAMPION Thomas
FINÉ Eddy
LASTRA Jonathan
GESCHKE Simon
MARIAULT Axel
ZINGLE Axel
Corratec-Vini Fantini
CONTI Valerio
BALDACCINI Davide
BONIFAZIO Niccolò
PONOMAR Andrii
QUARTUCCI Lorenzo
SBARAGLI Kristian
STEWART Mark
Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale
COSNEFROY Benoît
HÄNNINEN Jaakko
LABROSSE Jordan
LAPEIRA Paul
TRONCHON Bastien
VENDRAME Andrea
PETERS Nans
EF Education-EasyPost
CARAPAZ Richard
BETTIOL Alberto
HEALY Ben
HONORÉ Mikkel Frølich
POWLESS Neilson
SHAW James
Groupama-FDJ
MADOUAS Valentin
ASKEY Lewis
GERMANI Lorenzo
GRÉGOIRE Romain
KÜNG Stefan
LE GAC Olivier
LIENHARD Fabian
Intermarché-Wanty
ROTA Lorenzo
BUSATTO Francesco
COLLEONI Kevin
PAQUOT Tom
PETILLI Simone
SMITH Dion
TAARAMÄE Rein
Israel-Premier Tech
WILLIAMS Stephen
CLARKE Simon
NEILANDS Krists
RAISBERG Nadav
SHEEHAN Riley
TEUNS Dylan
Lidl-Trek
BAGIOLI Andrea
FELLINE Fabio
MOSCA Jacopo
SIMMONS Quinn
SKUJIŅŠ Toms
THEUNS Edward
VACEK Mathias
Lotto Dstny
VAN GILS Maxim
BERCKMOES Jenno
CURRIE Logan
KRON Andreas
LIVYNS Arjen
VAN EETVELT Lennert
GREGAARD Jonas
Movistar
FORMOLO Davide
CANAL Carlos
GARCÍA CORTINA Iván
OLIVEIRA Nelson
RANGEL Vinicius
SAMITIER Sergio
SERRANO Gonzalo
Q36.5
BRAMBILLA Gianluca
CALZONI Walter
CONCA Filippo
DE LA CRUZ David
DONOVAN Mark
FANCELLU Alessandro
WHELAN James
Soudal Quick-Step
ALAPHILIPPE Julian
ASGREEN Kasper
ČERNÝ Josef
HUBY Antoine
MAGNIER Paul
SERRY Pieter
VANSEVENANT Mauri
dsm-firmenich PostNL
BARDET Romain
BARGUIL Warren
BEVIN Patrick
FLYNN Sean
HAMILTON Chris
VAN DEN BROEK Frank
VERMAERKE Kevin
Jayco AlUla
YATES Simon
CRADDOCK Lawson
DE MARCHI Alessandro
ENGELHARDT Felix
FOLDAGER Anders
SCHMID Mauro
ZANA Filippo
Polti Kometa
BAIS Davide
FETTER Erik
GÓMEZ Germán Darío
MUÑOZ Francisco
PIETROBON Andrea
RESTREPO Jhonatan
SEVILLA Diego Pablo
Visma-Lease a Bike
LAPORTE Christophe
KUSS Sepp
LEMMEN Bart
TULETT Ben
VADER Milan
VALTER Attila
VERMOTE Julien
Tudor Pro Cycling
BRUN Nils
ERIKSSON Lucas
KAMP Alexander
REICHENBACH Sébastien
THALMANN Roland
WILKSCH Hannes
WIRTGEN Luc
UAE Team Emirates
POGAČAR Tadej
DEL TORO Isaac
BARONCINI Filippo
CHRISTEN Jan
HIRSCHI Marc
NOVAK Domen
WELLENS Tim
Uno-X Mobility
CORT Magnus
ABRAHAMSEN Jonas
URIANSTAD BUGGE Martin
EIKING Odd Christian
HOELGAARD Markus
HVIDEBERG Jonas Iversby
JOHANNESSEN Anders Halland
Bahrain-Victorious
MOHORIČ Matej
BURATTI Nicolò
GOVEKAR Matevž
MIHOLJEVIĆ Fran
PASQUALON Andrea
TRÆEN Torstein
ZAMBANINI Edoardo
Women
SD Worx-Protime
VOLLERING Demi
BREDEWOLD Mischa
CECCHINI Elena
FISHER-BLACK Niamh
GUARISCHI Barbara
KOPECKY Lotte
AG Insurance-Soudal
MOOLMAN Ashleigh
BENITO Mireia
BORGSTRÖM Julia
GHEKIERE Justine
(LE COURT) PIENAAR Kimberley
MASETTI Gaia
Aromitalia 3T Vaiano
LELEIVYTĖ Rasa
BARONI Francesca
DEL SARTO Milena
MORENO Ainhoa
SEMOLI Serena
TOTTOLO Elisa
Bepink-Bongioanni
CASAGRANDA Andrea
MAGALHÃES Ana Vitória
JENČUŠOVÁ Nora
POZZOBON Beatrice
SAVI Prisca
TRINCA COLONEL Monica
Canyon-Sram
NIEWIADOMA Katarzyna
BAUERNFEIND Ricarda
CHABBEY Elise
BRADBURY Neve
PALADIN Soraya
TOWERS Alice
Ceratizit-WNT
ARZUFFI Alice Maria
ASENCIO Laura
BERTON Nina
EBERLE Lana
KERBAOL Cédrine
LACH Marta
Cofidis
BERTEAU Victoire
BEGO Julie
BOULAIS Flavie
COSTON Morgane
KERN Špela
NOSKOVÁ Nikola
EF Education-Cannondale
ARMITAGE Megan
BORGHESI Letizia
HENTTALA Lotta
JACKSON Alison
RÜEGG Noemi
VALLIERES Magdeleine
FDJ-Suez
ADEGEEST Loes
KRAAK Amber
MUZIC Évita
WIEL Jade
Fenix-Deceuninck
ROOIJAKKERS Pauliena
KASTELIJN Yara
MARTURANO Greta
PIETERSE Puck
SCHWEINBERGER Christina
TRUYEN Marthe
Human Powered Health
BIRIUKOVA Yuliia
EDWARDS Ruth
MALCOTTI Barbara
RAAIJMAKERS Marit
RAGUSA Katia
WILLIAMS Lily
Isolmant-Premac-Vittoria
CURNIS Valeria
MAZZORANA Sara
PEPOLI Sara
ROSSETTI Sonia
ZANGA Marta
ZONTONE Asia
Laboral Kutxa-Fundación Euskadi
OYARBIDE Lourdes
QUAGLIOTTO Nadia
SILVESTRI Debora
TOMASI Laura
TONETTI Cristina
YONAMINE Eri
Lidl-Trek
LONGO BORGHINI Elisa
CHAPMAN Brodie
DEIGNAN Elizabeth
HANSON Lauretta
SPRATT Amanda136VAN ANROOIJ Shirin
Liv AlUla Jayco
GARCÍA Mavi
ANDERSSON Caroline
MANLY Alexandra
PATE Amber
ROSEMAN-GANNON Ruby
WYLLIE Ella
Movistar
MEIJERING Mareille
BARIL Olivia
ERIĆ Jelena
MACKAIJ Floortje
MARTÍN Sara
PATIÑO Paula
Tashkent City
KUSKOVA Yanina
KAKHOROVA Madina
KARIMOVA Sofiya
KNEBELEVA Ekaterina
KOZIEVA Nafosat
MISYURINA Margarita
dsm-firmenich PostNL
BARALE Francesca
CIABOCCO Eleonora
GEORGI Pfeiffer
LABOUS Juliette
NELSON Josie
UIJEN Elise
Mendelspeck Ge-Man
CAPASSO Alice
DE GRANDIS Michela
MIOTTO Giulia
PIFFER Sara
VALLOTTO Giulia
ZANETTI Emma
Visma-Lease a Bike
MARKUS Riejanne
NOOIJEN Lieke
VAN AGT Eva
VIGIE Margaux
VON BERSWORDT Sophie
VOS Marianne
Top Girls Fassa Bortolo
PALAZZI Alice
BARIANI Giorgia
BORTOLI Virginia
DE VALLIER Elisa
MONTICOLO Iris
SEGATO Gaia
UAE Team ADQ
PERSICO Silvia
AMIALIUSIK Alena
HARVEY Mikayla
MAGNALDI Erica
NEUMANOVA Tereza
SWINKELS Karlijn
Uno-X Mobility
BOILARD Simone
AALERUD Katrine
BARKER Elinor
BEEKHUIS Teuntje
BERG EDSETH Marte
KOSTER Anouska
BTC City Ljubljana Zhiraf Ambedo
PINTAR Urška
LAPORTA Linda
CRESTANELLO Lara
BONZANINI Rachele
SERENA Giorgia
COLNAR Špela
