After Fabian Cancellara, Tadej Pogacar now has his own gravel section in Strade Bianche

Tadej Pogacar will start his season next Saturday with Strade Bianche. The Slovenian won the Italian one-day race last year for the third time and is therefore receiving a special tribute. The Colle Pinzuto will be named after him.

The Colle Pinzuto has been featured twice in the final stages of Strade Bianche for several years now. The sloping gravel section, which is 2.4 kilometers long and rated four out of a maximum of five stars, is the penultimate sector of the race. Only Le Tolfe follows after it. After having crashed earlier in the race, Pogacar attacked Tom Pidcock on the last ascent of Colle Pinzuto.

Pogacar decided Strade Bianche in 2022 and 2024 on the Monte Sante Marie, but that section is already named after another three-time winner: Fabian Cancellara. The Swiss claimed the gravel classic in 2008, 2012, and 2016. At the start of the Monte Sante Marie section, there is also a memorial stone honoring Cancellara’s achievements. Pogacar will receive a similar stone at the Colle Pinzuto.

Currently, Pogacar and Cancellara share the record for most wins at Strade Bianche. If the Slovenian wins again next week, he will hold the record outright.