Taking place on Saturday 8th March, Strade Bianche is the second significant one-day road race of the season, coming the weekend after the spring Classics opene at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad last weekend.
The youngest of the spring Classics, the Italian race Strade Bianche has enjoyed a meteoric rise in fame and prestige since its inception in 2007, including promotion to WorldTour level in 2017. Famous for its gravel sectors, this long loop out from Siena through the beautiful Tuscan countryside is favoured by one-day specialists who aren’t fazed by its sharp, punchy (and mostly gravel) climbs.
The name comes from the Italian for ‘white roads’, referring to the gravel that makes this race so difficult (and exciting and unpredictable). Both the men and women’s races see a slight increase in gravel – 16 sectors for the men totalling 81.7km in their 19th edition, and 13 for the women reaching 50.3km in their 11th edition.
In 2024, Tadej Pogačar notched his second victory in the race with a 81km solo attack in the men’s race, while Lotte Kopecky powered away from Elisa Longo Borghini up the brutal Via Santa Caterina climb into Siena for her second win in the race.
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Strade Bianche 2025 key information
- Date: Saturday 8th March 2025
- Start: Siena, Tuscany
- Finish: Siena, Tuscany
- Distance: Men’s 213km; Women’s 136km
- Gravel Sections: Men’s 16; Women’s 13
- UK television coverage: TNT Sports, TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports 3
Strade Bianche 2025 routes
The men’s route departs from Siena and heads south before travelling east and circling back. The first two gravel sectors come in quick succession, 11km into the day. The middle section – from the 72km point – contains the longest sectors ranging from 8km to 11.9km, with the five-star 11.5km Monte Sante Marie being the hardest rated. This is where Pogačar said launched his move in 2024.
The final third packs in more shorter gravel sections on the run-in to the Via Santa Caterina, which hits a max gradient that no one seems to agree on, but it’s close to 20%.
The route this year stretches over the 200km mark for the second time in its history, totalling 213km. The new gravel sector for the men’s race is Sector 7, Serravalle, a three-star section lasting 9.3km.
The women’s race is 136km, slightly shorter than last year’s 137km route, but packs in an increased 50.3km of gravel to contend with. Like the men’s course, the peloton will depart Siena and head south before circling back into Siena via the Via Santa Caterina with the inclusion of the new Serravalle sector before the five-star Strada di San Martino in Grania.
Both the men and women’s races end on the same 20km, with gravel sectors hitting max gradients of 15% and 18% before the Via Santa Caterina. There’s a short 30m descent to the line afterwards, which produced a memorable sprint finish between teammates Vollering and Kopecky in 2023.
Strade Bianche 2025 favourites
Defending champion Lotte Kopecky will not be on the start line for Strade Bianche, but her SD Worx still packs firepower in Anna van der Breggen and Mischa Bredewold. 2023 winner Vollering will be here for new team FDJ-Suez, as will Elisa Longo Borghini, Kasia Niewiadoma and multi-discipline star Puck Pieterse.
For the men, Pogačar returns looking for a third title with UAE Team Emirates XRG teammates Tim Wellens and Isaac del Toro alongside him. There's also former gravel world champ Matej Mohorič, two-time winner and winner of the pro road calendar's other gravel race, Clasica Jaen, just last month Michał Kwiatkowski and 2023 winner Tom Pidcock, who has been enjoying quite the start to the season. Keep an eye on Ben Tulett and Marc Hirschi too.
Cyclist's men's ratings
- ★★★★★: Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates XRG)
- ★★★★: Matej Mohorič (Bahrain Victorious), Tom Pidcock (Q36.5 Pro Cycling), Michał Kwiatkowski (Ineos Grenadiers)
- ★★★: Maxim Van Gils (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ)
- ★★: Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost), Marc Hirschi (Tudor Pro Cycling), Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek)
- ★: Christian Scaroni (XDS-Astana), Ben Tulett (Visma-Lease a Bike), Attila Valter (Visma-Lease a Bike)
Cyclist's women's ratings
- ★★★★★: Demi Vollering (SD Worx-Protime)
- ★★★★: Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ), Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM-Zondacrypto), Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck)
- ★★★: Kristen Faulkner (EF Education-Oatly), Marlen Reusser (Movistar), Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime)
- ★★: Liane Lippert (Movistar), Silvia Persico (UAE Team ADQ), Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (Canyon-SRAM-Zondacrypto)
- ★: Justine Ghekiere (AG Insurance-Soudal), Thalita de Jong (Human Powered Health), Fem van Empel (Visma-Lease a Bike)
Strade Bianche 2025: How to watch
Viewers in the UK can only watch Strade Bianche on TNT Sports, which is available to be streamed through Discovery+. FloBikes has the coverage across Canada and the US, but American fans can also watch the race on Max. In Australia, it's on SBS, and it's available to watch on Staylive around the world – check which countries here.
If Strade Bianche isn't being broadcast in your country, or you are travelling abroad, a VPN will allow you to hide your device's location to access content that is normally geo-blocked. One such VPN provider is ExpressVPN, which is well reviewed, helps users to find free to watch cycling, and costs start from around £5 per month.
- Read more: Which countries can watch cycling for free in 2025
- Read more: How to watch cycling for less in the UK
UK TV times
Women’s race
TNT Sports: 10:30-13:00
TNT Sports 3: 10:30-13:00
Men’s race
TNT Sports: 13:00-16:30
TNT Sports 3: 13:00-16:30
TNT Sports 1: 15:15-16:30
Strade Bianche 2025: Men's start list
Data powered by FirstCycling.com
Strade Bianche Donne 2025: Women's start list
Data powered by FirstCycling.com
Strade Bianche men’s previous winners
- 2024: Tadej Pogačar (SVN) UAE Team Emirates
- 2023: Tom Pidcock (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers
- 2022: Tadej Pogačar (SVN) UAE Team Emirates
- 2021: Mathieu van der Poel (NED) Alpecin-Fenix
- 2020: Wout van Aert (BEL) Jumbo–Visma
- 2019: Julian Alaphilippe (FRA) Deceuninck-QuickStep
- 2018: Tiesj Benoot (BEL) Lotto-Soudal
- 2017: Michal Kwiatkowski (POL) Team Sky
- 2016: Fabian Cancellara (SUI) Trek-Segafredo
- 2015: Zdenek Stybar (CZE) Etixx-QuickStep
- 2014: Michal Kwiatkowski (POL) Omega Pharma-QuickStep
- 2013: Moreno Moser (ITA) Cannondale Pro Cycling
- 2012: Fabian Cancellara (SUI) Radioshack-Nissan
- 2011: Philippe Gilbert (BEL) Omega Pharma-Lotto
- 2010: Maxim Iglinsky (KAZ) Astana
- 2009: Thomas Lovkvist (SWE) Team Columbia-HTC
- 2008: Fabian Cancellara (SUI) CSC ProTeam
- 2007: Alexandr Kolobnev (RUS) CSC ProTeam
Strade Bianche women’s previous winners
- 2024: Lotte Kopecky (BEL) SD Worx-Protime
- 2023: Demi Vollering (NED) SD Worx
- 2022: Lotte Kopecky (BEL) SD Worx
- 2021: Chantal van den Broek-Blaak (NED) SD Worx
- 2020: Annemiek van Vleuten (NED) Mitchelton–Scott
- 2019: Annemiek van Vleuten (NED) Mitchelton-Scott
- 2018: Anna van der Breggen (NED) Boels-Dolmans
- 2017: Elisa Longo Borghini (ITA) Wiggle-High5
- 2016: Lizzie Deignan (GBR) Boels-Dolmans
- 2015: Megan Guarnier (USA) Boels-Dolmans
