Preview: Strade Bianche 2026 - will Paul Seixas stop Tadej Pogacar and Isaac Del Toro’s 1-2?

Heroism and relentless passion for the craft drip from Strade Bianche. The Tuscan sterrati give this Italian race its unique character, to which many cycling fans have dedicated their hearts. Including some of the greatest riders on Earth. Many consider Strade Bianche the sixth Monument, yet in 2026 the Italian classic is only reaching its twentieth edition. World champion Tadej Pogačar can win for the fourth time in five years. WielerFlits looks ahead!

History

If you let a cycling enthusiast choose, after three Monuments Strade Bianche will likely emerge as the most favorite one-day race to follow. In a short period, the Italian gravel classic has gained enormous fame. Not surprising, as Strade Bianche is special in its kind. It might even have sparked the gravel revolution of the past decade. Many races (think Paris-Tours) tried to copy the success of the Italian sterrati, but to this day, no race has matched its beauty. Take a look at the already rich history of Strade Bianche in the article below.

Last edition

In Tuscany, the roads were white and treacherous again, as if the landscape itself was holding its breath. The early break included young Dutch rider Pepijn Reinderink, but all eyes in the peloton were on Tadej Pogačar, the world champion who had already dominated these dusty roads twice before. While his team maintained a tight pace, the peloton gradually thinned, and anticipation grew: where would the Slovenian choose his decisive moment to shake off another long solo? Yet it was not the world champion who broke the race open but Tom Pidcock. Pogačar immediately responded, and they were away.

The race took a dramatic turn when Pogačar misjudged a corner on a descent and crashed hard into the ditch and brush, battered but unbroken. With abrasions and a quick bike change, he resumed the chase, seemingly driven only by sheer willpower. Pidcock initially pushed on but then sportingly waited to check if the Slovenian was okay. This brought them back together, and shoulder to shoulder, they dived into the finale. What followed was a fragile truce on the white roads of Le Tolfe and Montechiaro; a calm before the storm.

On the Colle Pinzuto, the moment burst open like a heart held too long. Sitting in the saddle, Pogačar accelerated, controlled yet ruthless. Pidcock tried to follow, clung on, but had to let go after several hundred meters. From that point, the Slovenian rode alone, pain still in his body but victory already in his eyes. He stormed into Siena via Via Santa Caterina, ultimately solo to the Piazza del Campo: battered, magnificent, and untouchable. Behind him, Pidcock held firm for second, and Tim Wellens completed the podium and made the celebration for UAE Emirates XRG complete.

Route

The recipe of Strade Bianche has changed. The organizers have decided to cut a total of sixteen kilometers of gravel sections, and overall the race is twelve kilometers shorter than last year’s edition. The magnificent finale, however, remains untouched, but the question arises: is the organizer trying to respond to Tadej Pogačar’s dominance in recent years with this route change? And so extend an invitation to riders like Mathieu van der Poel?

Anyway, first let’s look at this rather significant change. Or is it? The sterrati that are removed are those of La Piana (6.4 kilometers) and Seravalle (9.3 kilometers). These gravel passages made their appearance last year in the early race phase, before the actual finale. Also, the first gravel section of the day – Vidritta – is halved. Where riders had to endure 4.4 kilometers of dust last year, now it is ‘only’ 2.4 kilometers.

In total, the men must tackle 64.1 kilometers of gravel roads at Strade Bianche, no longer 80 kilometers. The total race length is shortened by twelve kilometers: from 213 to 201 kilometers.

The finale of Strade Bianche remains untouched. This means the men can once again ‘look forward’ this year to the long gravel sectors of San Martino in Grania (9.4 km) and Monte Sante Marie (11.5 km), followed by the unpaved passages of Monteaperti (0.6 km), Colle Pinzuto (2.4 km), Le Tolfe (1.1 km), Strada del Castagno (0.7 km), Montechiaro (3.3 km) and once again Colle Pinzuto (2.4 km) – which was named after Pogačar last week, with a commemorative plaque – and Le Tolfe (1.1 km).

After the tough climb of Le Tolfe, the route continues on rolling terrain towards the now world-famous finish in the center of Siena, on the Piazza del Campo, after the steep climb of Via Santa Caterina. That finish has become so iconic that it delivers equally heroic images. So beautiful that for our spring issue of RIDE Magazine, we again chose a cover photo from Strade Bianche. You can pre-order the magazine here now.

Favorites

As every year, organizer RCS Sport (the same behind Tirreno-Adriatico, Milan-San Remo, and the Giro d’Italia) can count on a fantastic starting field. Mathieu van der Poel is (for now) again skipping the race, although you never know with the Dutch Alpecin-Premier Tech rider. Maybe he will be convinced by the changed route after all. Anyway, let’s first focus on the men who will be there!

Starting with the top favorite. Although he hasn't raced a meter in 2026, that poses no problem for Tadej Pogačar. In 2023 and 2024, this was also the case, and he produced solo efforts of 36 kilometers (Clásica Jaén 2023) and 82 kilometers (Strade Bianche 2024) respectively in his season debuts. Moreover, he has won three of the last four editions of this classic over the sterrati. In the missing year, the Slovenian did not start. With his explosiveness, winning mentality, and strength, it takes a lot to beat him.

Someone who could theoretically challenge him is Tom Pidcock. The small Brit (26) has raced Strade Bianche three times since his debut in 2021. He has a strong track record (albeit slightly behind Pogačar): the leader of Pinarello-Q36.5 has never finished outside the top five. In 2023, he was the best, and last year he boldly attacked the world champion but clearly had to concede in the finale. But: new round, new opportunities. Pidders started the season well and impressed in the final stage of the Ruta del Sol, which he won.

We overlook the fact that the British climber made a rookie mistake at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. The same goes for Isaac Del Toro, who has never finished higher than 33rd here. The 22-year-old Mexican has all the characteristics to make his rivals swallow dust. The question remains how the role distribution within UAE Emirates XRG will be. Pogačar is clearly the team leader, but there are other in-form men, including Del Toro, who impressed at the UAE Tour winning two stages.

In this Strade Bianche, we’ll see the contours of Pogačar’s successors for the first time. Besides his teammate Del Toro, another super talent at the start is Paul Seixas. The 19-year-old Frenchman made his pro debut last year and had a stellar autumn: he won the Tour de l’Avenir, was thirteenth at the World Championships in Rwanda, third at the European Championships at home, and seventh in the Giro di Lombardia. In recent weeks, he also won a tough stage in the Volta ao Algarve and soloed to an impressive victory in the Faun-Ardèche Classic. 

Those were only Seixas’ first two big wins, but good things come fast. That was also the feeling with Romain Grégoire. The recently turned 23-year-old Frenchman is a genuine puncheur who feels at home on finishes like Siena. Unfortunately for Grégoire, he’ll have to endure many tough sectors and climbs beforehand. But he normally can handle that. Last weekend he won the Drôme Classic and showed good form in the Ruta del Sol. Grégoire was eighth in his Strade debut (2023).

In that Faun-Drôme Classic, he out-sprinted his closest rival Matteo Jorgenson in a two-man sprint for victory. A day earlier, the 26-year-old American of Visma | Lease a Bike had already made a good impression in his season debut at the Ardèche Classic, where he narrowly lost the sprint for second place in a trio. Jorgenson finished fourth and is focusing on the climbing classics this season. Strade Bianche belongs to that group. The American is in good shape; now he just needs the explosiveness.

Hate him or love him: the fact is Jan Christen has that extra acceleration on a break or finish. The big talent from Switzerland (21 years old) could go for a complete UAE podium alongside Pogačar and Del Toro, just as the sadly injured Tim Wellens could have. Christen is in top form. He took a double victory in the closing stage of the AlUla Tour, was third in the Clásica Jaén before his disqualification (for causing Maxim Van Gils to crash), fourth in the Ruta del Sol, and second behind Seixas in the Ardèche.

One rider whose current form remains unknown is Wout van Aert. The 31-year-old Belgian leader of Visma | Lease a Bike fell ill before the opening weekend, so we couldn’t see in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad how much he was still hampered by that broken ankle and his condition. However, photos from the training camp show that the Belgian is already quite sharp for his standards. Moreover, Van Aert has an even stronger record in Strade Bianche than Tom Pidcock: two third places (2018 and 2019), a win (2020), and fourth (2021).

Van Aert also won the sterrati stage in the most recent Giro d’Italia by out-sprinting Del Toro in the finale. Paul Lapeira doesn’t have such credentials at all. Still, the 25-year-old Frenchman seems ready for an important role in the finale of the upcoming Strade Bianche. He missed the entire spring last year due to injury but put in a strong sequence of top results in the autumn. He has continued in that vein entering 2026 and recently won the Tour des Alpes-Maritimes. On Sunday, the puncheur finished fifth in the Drôme Classic.

We initially wanted to leave the last star in this preview blank after Tim Wellens broke his collarbone. There are already several very dangerous outsiders on the provisional start list. After the opening weekend, we now prefer to highlight Florian Vermeersch. The 26-year-old Belgian impressed in both races but only earned a physical reward with third place in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. If he doesn’t have to ride himself empty for Pogačar, Vermeersch might surprise in the finale.

Outsiders

Although the start list is far from complete at the time of writing, many big names are already listed. The main outsiders for victory in Strade Bianche are — hypothetically, given Pogačar’s presence — Ben Healy (fourth last year, but heavily dropped last weekend in the Ardèche and Drôme Classic), Giulio Pellizzari (the Italian talent from Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe who showed good form in the Tour of Valencia), and Lennert Van Eetvelt (in form at the UAE Tour for Lotto-Intermarché, finishing eleventh and ninth the past two years).

Additionally, watch out for Roger Adrià, Matej Mohorič, Pello Bilbao, Egan Bernal, Valentin Madouas, Attila Valter, Quinn Simmons, Gianni Vermeersch, and Julian Alaphilippe. They have all finished (sometimes multiple times) in the top 10 of Strade Bianche before. Also, debutants like Axel Laurance, Tobias Halland Johannessen, the very young Jarno Widar, Clément Champoussin, and Victor Lafay will keep a close eye on the favorites. The same applies to riders like Thymen Arensman, Louis Barré, Ben Tulett, and top talent Albert Philipsen. For now: to be continued.

• The complete start list for Strade Bianche 2026 is not yet known. Therefore, we may update the favorites section next week. Once a full start list is available, we will supplement or amend this preview accordingly.

Weather and TV

Saturday promises a beautiful race day. In and around Siena, weather stations forecast a temperature of fifteen degrees Celsius. Additionally, there will be barely any wind: just force two from the east-northeast. That’s negligible. However, riders should expect some rain off and on in the afternoon. Whether that will make the race much tougher remains to be seen on Saturday. But it does seem a guarantee for muddy faces, like we saw in the edition Tiesj Benoot won in 2018.

Strade Bianche will be broadcast live next weekend from 14:15 on Sporza, Eurosport, and HBO Max. Below in our overview, you’ll find the exact broadcast times should any changes occur this week. Curious which races you can combine with your Saturday afternoon viewing? Check all TV channels and broadcast times in our cycling TV guide.