Preview: Strade Bianche Donne 2026 — will Demi Vollering be the first woman on her own gravel sector?

Anyone cycling around the beautiful Tuscan countryside might just ride over the Settore Fabian Cancellara and the Settore Tadej Pogačar. It’s the reward for winning Strade Bianche three times. No woman has managed that yet, but this year two women, Demi Vollering and Lotte Kopecky, could make it happen. Will one of them succeed, or will we welcome a new winner on the Piazza del Campo in Siena? WielerFlits takes a look ahead!

History

Last Edition

Mentor versus pupil, with the pupil coming out on top. Former coach versus her old protégé. Super champion against super champion. A duel like that is a dream. So it was all the more beautiful when it happened on that stunning Strade Bianche day in 2025.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPAgerr1YC8

Route

Last year featured 50.3 kilometers of dust inhalation. You could easily make it even longer. There are plenty of unpaved roads around the highly touristic city. Pelotons could have their fun even north of Siena. A finish through beautiful towns like San Gimignano, Colle di Val d'Elsa, and Monteriggioni would also guarantee spectacle. An idea for the future? Fully in line with the Olympic motto citius, altius, fortius — Faster, higher, stronger.

Are you already daydreaming? Then I’m not the only one.

"Stop dreaming, kid. Eat your pizza."

The annual pilgrimage south of Siena is also hard to fault. And Strade Bianche shows beautifully that things don’t always have to get crazier and crazier. This year we have “only” 31.7 kilometers of gravel racing. The long stretches of La Piana and Serravalle — totaling 15.7 km of gravel — have been removed, but otherwise, it’s a Strade Bianche as we know it. Rolling terrain, beautiful vistas, cypress trees lining the route, and the occasional stray agriturismo. It’s the perfect setting to shoot a bad Dutch-language drama — a nice pleonasm.

The section of Vidritta (also slightly shortened) traditionally kicks things off just south of Siena. It’s the first time the peloton ‘jostles’ towards an unpaved stretch, but definitely not the last. The longest sector lies about halfway through the race: 9.5 kilometers through the Crete Senesi, perhaps the most beautiful part of the course. The San Martino in Grania sector undulates constantly and finishes with a tough climb.

Riders who have participated in previous editions can tell you that after Monteaperti, the course continues with the Colle Pinzuto and Le Tolfe. For a long time after that it was a straight shot to the finish, but for a few years now, there’s an extra loop to complete. Via the Strada del Castagno and Montechiari, the course returns to Colle Pinzuto and Le Tolfe before heading properly into Siena. There, the Via Santa Caterina awaits — a finale climb with a maximum gradient of 16%.

And once you’re at the top, you’re not quite done, as there’s still about half a kilometer to the line. The tricky last corner lies just over 100 meters from the finish. The rider who comes through here first normally wins the race. Except in 2023, but really, when was Strade Bianche ever normal?

Unpaved Sectors Strade Bianche Women 2026

Vidritta (2.4 km) — after 14.2 km

Bagnaia (3.5 km) — after 19.2 km

Radi (4.4 km) — after 30.1 km

Cantiere T. Stile (0.4 km) — after

San Martino in Grania (9.4 km) — after 59.8 km

Monteaperti (0.6 km) — after 82.3 km

Colle Pinzuto (2.4 km) — after 86.7 km

Le Tolfe (1.1 km) — after 93 km

Strada del Castagno (0.7 km) — after 97.1 km

Montechiari (3.3 km) — after 110.2 km

Colle Pinzuto (2.4 km) — after 116.9 km

Le Tolfe (1.1 km) — after 123.2 km

Favorites

The complete start list is not yet known. Therefore, the star ratings are not final. We will supplement and update this part of the preview at a later time.

Many probably already knew about the incredibly strong form of Demi Vollering, but after Omloop Het Nieuwsblad no one will have any doubts left. Strade Bianche will add a number of contenders, but they also know they need to bring their best to keep Vollering from a third victory, and thus her own sector on the route... Because the Strade Bianche course naturally suits Vollering even more than Omloop.

Last year we already saw solid team play; this year FDJ United-SUEZ has taken an extra step forward. And Vollering seems able to tap into an even higher gear again. She was very strong last year — no doubt about that — but it all seems just a bit better now. So there's a chance everyone waits for Vollering to make a move. But what if she doesn't? That’s a scenario in which teammates like Elise Chabbey could easily benefit.

Time to get to work, as Katarzyna Niewiadoma knows well. Strade Bianche is naturally a more suitable race for her too. Always the bridesmaid, you might say a bit cynically about her performances in this race. She almost always is there, but winning? Impossible. That stigma will likely remain unless she manages to win it this year. She slightly adjusted her spring preparation, riding the UAE Tour for the first time. And while one swallow does not make a summer, she was really excellent in Omloop, with the fastest climb of the Muur van Geraardsbergen of all.

But if you say Niewiadoma, you almost automatically say Elisa Longo Borghini as well. The leader of UAE Team ADQ did win Strade Bianche in the past, unlike the Pole, and this year she has already shown strong legs with a clean victory in the UAE Tour. There, among other things, she smoothly dropped Katarzyna Niewiadoma. Those kinds of wins are great for confidence, but she knows she’ll have to step it up again at this race. If she starts, Karlijn Swinkels could also come far with the legs she currently has.

Kim Le Court? We also list her without any doubt. After a breakthrough year — which couldn’t have gone much better — this season is the one that could be even better. With her qualities, she should be counted among the top favorites. And with an AG Insurance-Soudal squad that’s really on the move this year, a good result should be much easier… as easy as it can get, of course.

Lotte Kopecky — alongside Vollering the only other rider who can aim for her own sector this year in Strade Bianche — faded out of the race story at Omloop after a broken derailleur just before the Muur. Anna van der Breggen suffered a throat infection, forcing her to miss the climbing stage in the UAE Tour. So there are some questions about the form of SD Worx-ProTime’s spearheads. But these are riders who can work magic when they’re on their day.

Despite a nasty slide on a descent, Pauline Ferrand-Prévôt came from the background last year to a beautiful third place, a first real indication that things were going well for the Frenchwoman that year. Femke de Vries? She will undoubtedly have to work as a domestique for her good French friend, but perhaps as a decoy she could come a long way. And have we mentioned that Marianne Vos has also marked this race? This is one of the rare events where she’s never been in the top five, but if Vos sets her mind to something...

Marlen Reusser has logically circled Strade Bianche, but after that nasty crash in the UAE Tour, it remains to be seen how she’s really doing. And speaking of Movistar’s spearheads, how is Liane Lippert? She also crashed hard at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.

Niamh Fisher-Black? Possible too, although the guess is that Lidl-Trek won’t focus solely on her. Shirin van Anrooij finished fifth two years ago, and she will undoubtedly want to improve on that this year. And what can cyclocross star Lucinda Brand do in her first road race of 2026? If in good shape, she should also come far.

But that applies to many women. For example, world champion Magdeleine Vallières has not yet been mentioned, yet she can certainly harbor ambitions in this race, as can a teammate like Noemi Rüegg. Monica Trinca Colonel (Liv AlUla Jayco) can also go far. Then there’s the Fenix-Premier Tech duo Yara Kastelijn and Puck Pieterse. Both riders have ridden strongly at the front over the past three years. They should normally be in the mix for the win again this year.

The biggest winner is already set beforehand. That we are fortunate enough to witness something so beautiful makes us, cycling fans, extremely lucky.

Weather

It can start off quite chilly on the Tuscan plains in the morning, but the riders will quickly warm up cycling through the rolling landscape. Besides, the sun will also be out. According to Weeronline, it will be around fifteen degrees Celsius at the finish with barely any wind. A more pleasant race day in early March is hard to imagine.