For most of the year, the undulating landscape of the Tuscan countryside is quaint and serene, quiet except for the rustle of Cypress leaves, or the groans of an old tractor as it rolls along the sterrati – the white gravel that weaves between undulating hillsides and olive groves.
But on a weekend in early March, there is a rumbling in the distance. Then: a flurry of dust, a chorus of shouts, the shifting of gears as the chaos of Strade Bianche unfolds.
Last year’s drama verged on farcical when a world champion was left scampering on his hands and knees in a thornbush by the side of the road. But Tadej Pogačar refused to fall at the mercy of the gravel. Instead, he caught and overtook 2023 winner Tom Pidcock, roaring away to victory and equalling Fabian Cancellara’s three-win record in the process.
The beauty and heartbreak of the unofficial ‘sixth Monument’ returns this weekend for its 20th edition, this year in shorter form: 15 gravel sectors have been reduced to 14, making up 64km of the 201km parcours. Less distance, but still the same room for the punctures, mechanicals, and crashes that make Strade one of the most treacherous races in the calendar.
And when the dust inevitably settles on iconic instances of cycling showmanship, a champion will be crowned in the historic Piazza del Campo.
Contenders
Tadej Pogačar
Lacerated rainbow skinsuit, bloodied shins, hands raised to the air before the hordes in the Piazza del Campo: the sight of Tadej Pogačar’s 2025 Strade Bianche victory was a work of art worthy of hanging in the hall of grande ciclismo history.
Among other reasons, Strade's relative adolescence – at only 20 years old – denies it Monument status, however, the UAE Team Emirates-XRG leader has been honoured with a monument of his own. Pogačar’s three dominant Strade Bianche victories from his last three starts in 2022, 2024 and 2025 have been written in the sterrati – quite literally – with a gravel sector now bearing his name.
That success alone makes the Slovenian the overwhelming favourite on his much-anticipated season debut in Tuscany. And while his absence from the early races of the year has left us guessing as to his 2026 form, Pogačar has been teasing rivals with glimpses of fitness, including smashing his own record on the Coll de Rates by 24 seconds during a team winter training camp.
Strade’s variety plays perfectly into the four-time Tour de France winner’s hands, and this year’s shorter course more closely resembles the route on which he took his maiden Tuscan gravel victory. The crucial Monte Sante Marie sector, where Pogačar has made the difference in each of the past two editions , arrives slightly earlier in the race this year. That could either spark another long-range solo attack and force teams into an early chase, or simply thin the contenders before the decisive moves closer to Siena.
The world champion lines up for his first race of the year (Image: Marco Bertorello/Getty Images)
Isaac del Toro
A Pogačar victory is made all the more plausible by the formidable strength of the UAE Team Emirates-XRG squad travelling to Tuscany, which includes 22-year-old Mexican talent Isaac del Toro. Del Toro’s domestique role in last year’s race resulted in a modest 33rd place finish, but his breakout 2025 season, along with an impressive start to 2026, suggest his capabilities when given the freedom to ride for himself are limitless.
After seven wins from 12 one-day races last autumn, his career reached new heights in February when he secured his first WorldTour victory on home soil at the UAE Tour. On the queen stage, he shed Antonio Tiberi on the final climb of Jebel Hafeet and shattered the previous ascent records held by Adam Yates and Pogačar.
Del Toro started out as a cyclocross and mountain bike rider, so he has experience on rough terrain. A ferocious attack at last year’s Clásica Jaén earned him second place behind Michał Kwiatkowski, ahead of an elite chasing group. That result foreshadowed an even greater feat at the Giro d’Italia, where he battled Wout van Aert on the gravel stage 9 to finish second.
A climber capable of stunning sprinters when duty calls, del Toro arrives at Strade Bianche in excellent condition. A UAE one-two on the Piazza del Campo would hardly be a surprise.
Del Toro battling Van Aert on stage 9 of the 2025 Giro d'Italia (Image: Zac Williams/SWpix)
Tom Pidcock
Before last year’s race, Tom Pidcock was bullish: “To beat Tadej you have to cross the line first,” the Leedsman told reporters.
His attempt to do just that became the spectacle of the 2025 edition. Pidcock rode with tactical daring and relentless determination as he battled Pogačar deep into the decisive phase of the race after the pair went clear early on. The 2023 winner ultimately lost that duel on the final gravel climb before Siena, but he was greeted with a deafening applause of his own as he rode to second place in the Piazza del Campo.
Pidcock has become something of a specialist on the white roads of Tuscany. His cyclocross background makes him ideally suited to the race’s gravel climbs and technical descents, while his exceptional bike handling – rivalled perhaps only by Mathieu van der Poel – was on full display in 2023 when a daring descent opened a gap of nearly 30 seconds.
The Q36.5 leader enters 2026 with decent form despite a disrupted Opening Weekend that saw him finish 48th at Omloop Nieuwsblad. A series of unfortunate errors have denied him victories so far (a mistimed gel at the Vuelta a Murcia, and a poorly timed jacket removal during the breakaway at Clásica Jaén), but these mishaps have the feel of dress rehearsals ahead of the main event.
Clásica Jaén’s gravel-laden parcours is particularly reminiscent of Strade Bianche, where Pidcock rode strongly to finish second behind Tim Wellens after being caught in the chase group. The absence of Wellens, who sustained a broken collarbone at Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, removes both a dangerous rival and an important lieutenant for Pogačar. Pidcock could once again be the Slovenian’s most dangerous challenger – as long as logistics go to plan.
2023 Strade winner Pidcock pushed Pogačar at last year's but ultimately couldn't topple the world champion (Image: Fabio Ferrari - Pool/Getty Images)
Wout van Aert
If anyone can attest to bad luck arriving in threes, it's Wout van Aert. The Belgian has endured a turbulent start to the season: a fractured ankle, a bout of flu just before his intended return at Opening Weekend, and a puncture in his first race back at Le Samyn.
While that sequence of setbacks has left a question mark over his current condition, Van Aert’s appearance at Strade Bianche, his first major target of the season, should still command attention. The Visma-Lease a Bike rider famously won the race in 2020 and, although he has not returned since 2021, his victory on the gravel stage 9 of of last year’s Giro d’Italia demonstrated his prowess on this terrain.
In theory, the change of parcours could favour van Aert, a powerful Classics specialist rather than a climber. The race is likely to be less attritional earlier on, reducing the chances of long solo attacks and increasing the possibility of a larger group reaching those decisive final sectors.
But as exciting as a Wout re-entrace is, we should remain realistic. To take top spot at a race like Strade Bianche (and to do so against the likes of Pogacar) requires utmost form – something unlikely to be guaranteed by injury and illness. Still, it’ll be a long-awaited stoic return.
Van Aert clung onto Del Toro's wheel up the steep ramp to the Piazza del Campo on stage 9 of the 2025 Giro d'Italia (Image: Zac Williams/SWpix)
Paul Seixas
For French fans eager for a new national star, 19-year-old Paul Seixas represents an exciting prospect.
The youngster has shown remarkable maturity early in the season, winning a tough stage of the Volta ao Algarve on the summit of Alto do Fóia, where he outclimbed Juan Ayuso and João Almeida to become the youngest stage winner in the race’s history.
He followed that performance with victory at the Faun-Ardèche Classic, launching a daring solo attack nearly 40 kilometres from the finish – a move that inevitably drew comparisons to Pogačar’s trademark long-range raids.
While the Decathlon rider has limited experience of the brutal rhythm of the spring Classics, those performances suggest that the demands of Strade Bianche could suit him well. His aggressive racing style and ability to sustain high power deep into races could make him a dangerous outsider should the race explode early.
Seixas dominated February's Faun-Ardèche Classic (Image: Billy Ceusters/Getty Images)
Other contenders
UAE’s Jan Christen is likely to ride primarily in support of Pogačar, but his victory at the AlUla Tour and second place finish at Faun-Ardèche make him a potential top-five contender. Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) also arrives in good form after finishing fourth at the Faun-Drôme Classic.
Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost), whose punchy climbing earned him fourth place last year, remains a dangerous attacker capable of animating the race from distance.
Meanwhile, Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek) has long spoken of his fondness for Strade’s shark-tooth profile and will be eager to improve upon his seventh place in 2022. Mountain bike specialist Alan Hatherly (Jayco-AlUla) also merits attention as he begins his second full season on the road, bringing off-road pedigree that could prove valuable on the sterrati.
Prediction
We believe Tadej Pogačar will claim his fourth Strade Bianche victory.
Read more: Opening Weekend 2026 analysis: Dutch dominance, tactical blunders and resurgent teams
Cover image: Paolo Giuliani/NurPhoto via Getty Images
