Tadej Pogacar dominates Strade Bianche but had to go all-out to drop Paul Seixas

Number four is in for Tadej Pogacar. After his wins in 2022, 2024, and 2025, the Slovenian was once again by far the best in this year’s Strade Bianche. He successfully completed a solo breakaway of nearly eighty kilometers. In the flash interview afterward, he gave extensive thanks to his teammates from UAE Emirates XRG.

"I probably say this every time, but: hats off to the team," Pogacar began. "Everyone did an amazing job. Domen Novak and Kevin Vermaerke controlled the breakaway and brought us into a good position for the gravel sectors. Felix Großschartner then set a strong pace, just like Florian Vermeersch. After that, the young guns, Jan Christen and Isaac Del Toro, took over. What a job they did. It was an honor to ride for this team today. I’m super happy."

Pogacar made the difference on the Monte Sante Marie. Paul Seixas managed to come back briefly but then fell off the pace. "I saw that he was chasing very hard on the steepest part of the climb. I told myself: I’m going all-out to the top, then I’ll see if he’s still there. Either he comes onto my wheel or he explodes. Well, exploded... He dropped back. I saw that was enough. Jan and Isaac were still there as well. That helped a lot to go solo."

Strade Bianche was Pogacar’s first race of 2026. Does his victory today mean he will be just as strong this year as in previous seasons? "We’ll see. It’s a great start to the season. Today was the first race of the year. We’ll take it day by day, race by race."