2025 Strade Bianche Race Preview: The Italian ‘Classic’ Strade Bianche, brings back memories of cycle racing from the past when the roads were rough and unsurfaced, when gravel was the norm. The race from and to Siena has over 80 kilometres of sterrati with climbs and dust before the finish in the Piazza del Campo. A modern take on a nostalgic race. We look at the route and the favourites for Saturday.
Highlights from 2024 Strade Bianche
The last 10 Strade Bianche Winners:
2024: Tadej Pogačar
2023: Tom Pidcock
2022: Tadej Pogačar
2021: Mathieu van der Poel
2020: Wout van Aert
2019: Julian Alaphilippe
2018: Tiesj Benoot
2017: Michal Kwiatkowski
2016: Fabian Cancellara
2015: Zdenek Stybar
The Story of Strade Bianche by Velon
2025 Strade Bianche Parcours:
The route of the 2025 Strade Bianche is a little bit harder. A new gravel section has been added to the route, so there are now sixteen strips of rough roads. The new section is 9.3 kilometres long, so now there is a now a total of 81.7 kilometres of gravel.
The finish is still in Siena
The start and finish are still in Siena. The first six gravel sections are the same as last year. The first, Vidritta, comes after 14 kilometres, it is nearly four and a half kilometres long and slightly downhill. Each sector of sterrati is different, some sections are relatively short, others are kilometres long. Some almost flat, other sectors are steep and leg sapping. The appeal of Strade Bianche is that it is impossible to predict where the race will kick off. Previously the first real split has come on the 11.9 kilometre Lucignano d’Asso, which almost immediately transitions into the 8 kilometre Ponte d’Arbia, but that is still 120 kilometres from the finish.
2025 Strade Bianche profile
After that first selection, the riders hit the new three star section of Serravalle. Tough, but nothing compared to the next bit of gravel: San Martino in Grania and Monte Sante Marie. Both are long and uphill and both have five stars. After the 11.5 kilometre Monte Sante Marie, also known as the Settore Fabian Cancellara, but also where Tadej Pogačar made the difference last year, there are more than 20 kilometres of ‘proper’ road. The longest sections are now over, but the finale is not easy. Fifty-three kilometres from the finish is the Monteaperti section of 600 metres. This is followed by the Strade di Colle Pinzuto (2.4km) and Le Tolfe (1.1km). Up until 2023, the race went to Siena after that last sector, but since last year, an extra loop was added. This starts almost immediately after Le Tolfe with the Strada del Castagno (1.3km). Fourteen kilometres later, is the Montechiaro (3.3km). The route repeats the Strade di Colle Pinzuto and Le Tolfe again as the final climbs. These climbs have ramps of over 10% in places. After the last section of Le Tolfe, there are 10 kilometres of undulating roads to Siena.
2025 Strade Bianche map
The finish in the Piazza del Campo in Siena, is the setting for the Palio, the famous horse race. In the Nobile Contrada dell’Oca, there is a very nasty climb. The riders pass under the 13th century Porta di Fontebranda and the road starts to climb, but when the cobbles of the Via Santa Caterina start, it gets really steep. The maximum gradient is 16%. At the top, there is still a half kilometre to the finish. The tricky last corner is on the border between the districts of Civetta, Leocorno and Torre and the race winner is usually the first to appear round that bend.
Dust or mud?
Sterrati:
- Settore Sterrato 1: Vidritta (4.4 kilometres) – *
- Settore Sterrato 2: Bagnaia (4.8 kilometres) – ***
- Settore Sterrato 3: Radi (4.4 kilometres) – **
- Settore Sterrato 4: La Piana (6.4 kilometres) – **
- Settore Sterrato 5: Lucignano d’Asso (11.9 kilometres) – ****
- Settore Sterrato 6: Pieve a Santi (8 kilometres) – ****
- Settore Sterrato 7: Serravalle (9.3 kilometres) – ***
- Settore Sterrato 8: San Martino in Grania (9.4 kilometres) – *****
- Settore Sterrato 9: Monte Sante Marie (11.5 kilometres) – *****
- Settore Sterrato 10: Monteaperti (0.6 kilometres) – **
- Settore Sterrato 11: Colle Pinzuto (2.4 kilometres) – ****
- Settore Sterrato 12: Le Tolfe (1.1 kilometres) – ****
- Settore Sterrato 13: Strada del Castagno (0.7 kilometres) – **
- Settore Sterrato 14: Montechiaro (3.3 kilometres) – **
- Settore Sterrato 15: Colle Pinzuto (2.4 kilometres) – ****
- Settore Sterrato 16: Le Tolfe (1.1 kilometres) – ****
Total gravel: 81.7 kilometres.
Classic
Favourites:
Tadej Pogačar was dominant last year in Strade Bianche. The Slovenian attacked with 81 kilometres to go, built up a huge lead and crossed the finish line, as fresh as a daisy, and that was his first race of the season. This year, he will be in Tuscany with a stage race under his belt. The World champion rode and won the UAE Tour in February and took both mountain stages for good measure. On paper, Pogačar should win his third Strade Bianche on Saturday, to equal Fabian Cancellara. But, much like Paris-Roubaix, the gravel race brings other problems: Punctures and mechanical problems when a team car might not be at hand. There are also some strong challengers on the start-list who won’t hand the win on a plate to the Slovenian.
Probable winner, but anything can happen – Top favourite Tadej Pogačar
Tom Pidcock has to be a contender. He is explosive, he can climbing and he has the bike handling skills of a cyclocross World champions and an Olympic mountain biker. He won Strade Bianche in 2023. During the winter he left INEOS Grenadiers for Q36.5, which seems to have reinvigorated his road ambitions. Pidcock won overall and two stages of the AlUla Tour, followed by a stage in the Ruta del Sol and a final third overall. We didn’t much of him in the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad last Saturday, but it was a strange race for many riders.
Tom Pidcock should be up there
Pogačar and Pidcock are not the only Strade Bianche winners at the start in Siena. Michał Kwiatkowski will be there again and has been the victor twice in the Piazza del Campo: in 2014 and 2017. Kwiatkowski is now 34-years-old, but he can still win races. He recently won the Clásica Jaén, which is also a gravel race, where he soloed to victory.
Marc Hirschi is always strong
Like Pogačar, Pidcock and Kwiatkowski, Marc Hirschi has also won this year. In his first race of the season, the 1969 Clàssica Comunitat Valenciana, he was the best from a fast final group. The Swiss rider has the form, but he has never ridden well in Strade Bianche: 72nd in 2019, didn’t finish in 2020 and 68th last year. Although in 2024 he had ride for Pogačar. This year he will be team leader with Tudor.
Romain Grégoire won last week, but it strange circumstances
Romain Grégoire finished 8th in the 2023 Strade Bianche, in his first year as a professional. He recently finished fourth in the Volta ao Algarve and won the Faun-Ardèche Classic, although most of the peloton went the wrong way at the finish. The 22-year-old will be hoping for a better result this year in Tuscany. Groupama-FDJ also has Valentin Madouas, second in the 2023, and David Gaudu, who won a stage in the Tour of Oman this year.
Kévin Vauquelin – A man to watch
Another Frenchman who started his season well is Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels). With the final overall victory in the Etoile de Bessèges, two stage wins, the points and second in the KOM, he could be a contender, maybe not the winner, but a hight placing. He finished 21st in Strade Bianche last year, but he did win the Tour de France stage to Bologna last year.
Mohorič has stunning moments
Bahrain Victorious has several options. Pello Bilbao and Matej Mohorič know the gravel race well. Bilbao finished 10th in 2021, 5th in 2022 and 7th in 2023. Mohorič was 5th in 2023 and 7th in 2024. Together they could pull a trick on Pogačar. They are both in good form at the moment: Mohorič finished 2nd behind Mads Pedersen in the Tour de la Provence, while Bilbao finished 3rd in both the Tour of Valencia and the UAE Tour. In the opening weekend, Mohorič, much like Pidcock, was invisible.
Lennert Van Eetvelt has had bad luck, but also has a lot of talent
Lotto has Lennert Van Eetvelt. The 23-year-old Belgian finished 11th in Strade Bianche last year, after he helped teammate Maxim Van Gils make an attack. That turned out to be his last race for a while, as he had problems with a knee injury. He can now put that behind him. At the end of 2024 he won the Gree-Tour of Guangxi and then started this season with 11th place in the UAE Tour. He probably would have finished higher, but missed a crucial echelon.
Toms Skujiņš – Can he move up in 2025?
Second last year, Toms Skujiņš and Christian Scaroni are also men to be watched. The Latvian hasn’t done much so far in 2025, but is a Classics-man. The Italian has had three wins already this year and on Wednesday he was 2nd in the Trofeo Laigueglia and has had oyher podium places, giving XDS-Astana some much-needed UCI points. Can he step up and do the same at WorldTour level?
Strade Bianche first time for Mikel Landa
The others: Mikel Landa (Soudal Quick-Step) riding for the first time, Davide Formolo (Movistar), Quinn Simmons & Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek), Rui Costa (EF Education-EasyPost), Alan Hatherly & Filippo Zana (Jayco AlUla), French champion Paul Lapeira (Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale) and the off-road specialists of Alpecin-Deceuninck: Emiel Verstrynge, Gianni Vermeersch and Quinten Hermans. Visma | Lease a Bike will have Attila Valter and Ben Tulett, both are on form. Dylan Teuns (Cofidis) has already shown his form in the early season.
Strade Bianche No.3 for Pogačar?
Top Favourite: Tadej Pogačar.
Probable: Tom Pidcock.
Up There: Romain Grégoire, Pello Bilbao, Christian Scaroni.
Maybe: Kévin Vauquelin, Michał Kwiatkowski, Lennert Van Eetvelt, Dylan Teuns.
* The start list could change before Saturday.
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Can Tom Pidcock repeat 2023?
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