With the Classics season now underway, Strade Bianche is the next big appointment for the stars of the men’s WorldTour, with the white gravel roads of Tuscany and a stunning finale into Siena set to decide one of the calendar’s most thrilling races on Saturday.
It brings with it the 2026 debut of a certain Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), a three-time winner, defending champion, and World Champion, who will look to open his account with another dominant performance.
While he has won three of the last four editions with long solo moves – only missing out in 2023 as he opted to prepare for Paris-Nice instead of racing at Strade – Pogačar hasn’t gone unchallenged, and that will again be the case this season.
With that in mind, we’ve taken a look through the top contenders and picked the most likely riders to challenge Pogačar’s dominance, from established stars to young guns looking to impress on debut. Here are Cyclingnews‘ favourites for the men’s 2026 Strade Bianche.
Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG)
Tadej Pogačar retains his status as the favourite again this season, even in his first race of the season. A fourth win would see him stand alone as the rider with the most Strade Bianche wins ahead of Fabian Cancellara, which looks a likely conclusion from Saturday’s race.
Putting up ridiculous numbers across his three wins, Pogačar has ridden the last 19km, 81km and 50km alone during those triumphs, often lighting up the racing on the five-star Monte Sante Marie sector and rarely being matched.
Pogačar does know the risks of this race, however, crashing…
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