The 2026 season has been underway for six weeks and the Classics season kicked-off at the weekend with Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, but Saturday’s Strade Bianche marks a new high-point of the cycling season and the start of two weeks of Italian grande ciclismo.
Everyone has a favourite race of the season and Strade Bianche has become mine in recent years. I’m biased because it is my ‘home’ Classic, but Strade Bianche encapsulates everything that is magical about bike racing.
Stephen Farrand
I’ve reported on every edition of Strade Bianche, including the 2020 rescheduled Covid-19 edition raced in 35°C August heat and those raced in the cold and rain of early spring. I’ve seen Fabian Cancellara use his power to conquer the Tuscan ‘sterrati’ and these days I understand how the demanding course means Strade Bianche is now out of reach for most Classics riders.
Modern-day Strade Bianche needs superb spring form, Ardennes climbing physiology and gravel racer bike skills. It is Liège-Bastogne-Liège combined with Paris-Roubaix. That is why Tadej Pogačar, Demi Vollering and Tom Pidcock excel and why sadly Mathieu van der Poel has opted to stay away this year.
Pogačar and Vollering are the big favourites for this year’s race but anything and everything can happen at Strade Bianche. These are the things I hope to see and will be watching for on Saturday.
The sport’s biggest stars return with a splash
I’m fascinated to see how Tour de France winners Tadej Pogačar and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot perform on their season debut against riders who have already won major races in 2026.
The racing at Strade Bianche always provides drama and emotion, but the presence of Pogačar and Ferrand-Prévot raises the bar a whole lot higher. A win for either would be further confirmation of his or her status as a great of the sport. If anyone can beat them, it will be one of the biggest moments of the 2026 season.
Pogačar is making his season debut late because he has chosen another intense Classics calendar that includes five major objectives between now and the end of April, including Milan-San Remo, the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix and Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
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