This is a promotional feature with GCN+
It’s a debate that has raged every March since the Italian one-day Classic’s debut in 2007. It’s as thrilling, as jaw-dropping and as dramatic as the likes of Paris-Roubaix, the Tour of Flanders and Il Lombardia, so why shouldn’t Strade Bianche be officially upgraded to sit alongside cycling’s five revered Classics? Many would even add that it’s a far better spectacle than Liège-Bastogne-Liège and Milan-San Remo.
The Defenders of the Monuments™, however, will hit back hard. Where’s the century-plus history that all five Monuments boast? Where’s the back catalogue of iconic and era-defining racing? More than anything, how can you mess with tradition? The Monuments were always a collection of five races, and ought to remain just that.
Whatever side of the fence you’re on, we’re quite sure that you will engage in the same argument in the coming days as the dusty white roads of Tuscany return to our screens for both the men’s and women’s WorldTour races, both battles of which will be shown live and uninterrupted on GCN+.
As the excitement begins to be stoked, you can browse through GCN+’s back catalogue of racing archives to rewatch how Tadej Pogačar spectacularly won the men’s race last year with a near-50 kilometre solo ride that was vintage and trademark Pog.
The Slovenian won’t be back to defend his title due to his participation at Paris-Nice (also available on GCN+), but recent former winners Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert and Julian Alaphilippe will be. If one of the trio wins – and, let’s be honest, who’d bet against it? – they will equal Fabian Cancellara as a two-time winner of the race.
As a clear indication of just how unmissable Strade Bianche is, one only needs to go back and watch the replay of the women’s race in 2022 when Lotte Kopecky did what all of her colleagues in the peloton tried but mostly failed to do last year – i.e. beat Annemiek van Vleuten.
The Belgian got the better of the Dutchwoman in a sprint in Siena to become her country’s first female winner of the race, and she’s targeting the double. Van Vleuten, a two-time winner, is back for revenge.
A double-header of Monumental (see what we did there?) sporting drama demands the best in race analysis to talk us through what is happening. GCN+ possesses the best team in the business with informed commentators, expert pundits and an A-list panel of knowledgeable ex-pros on hand to…