The first of sixteen gravel sectors appears after just 14 kilometres. It’s a gentle warm-up: 4.4 kilometres long, without any climbs or descents. The second one is a different story, serving up some steep ramps over 4.8 kilometres. The following two sterrati are easy again, measuring 4.4 and 6.4 kilometres, respectively.
By the time the riders clear the fourth gravel sector, they’ll have been racing for almost 50 kilometres. Smooth tarmac leads them to Montalcino, where a 4-kilometre climb at 5% brings them up to the fortress town.
Not long after the descent, the longest gravel sector of the day appears. It’s 11.9 kilometres long and ends with a short downhill. Almost without delay, sector 6 throws in another 8 kilometres of unpaved roads, packed with climbs and descents.
The following sector is a new addition to the route – 9.3 kilometres long and featuring an early climb. A short stretch of tarmac leads onto the 9.5-kilometre San Martino in Grania sector, which finishes on a steep and winding climb. A descent of nearly 9 kilometres takes the riders onto arguably the toughest sector of the race. Over 11.5 kilometres, this dusty (or muddy) road climbs steadily, though there are some tricky descents as well.
Over the next 18 kilometres, the surface is smooth, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy – the road constantly rises and falls. Then, within just 16 kilometres, the riders face four short gravel sectors. Sector 10 is only 800 metres long, but it is spiced up with a climb at double digits. Soon after, the Strade di Colle Pinzuto opens – 2.4 kilometres, including a brutal 15% ramp – and it doesn’t get much easier afterwards, as a series of hairpin bends continues upwards. A descent then leads to the punchy ascent to Le Tolfe, which, like Colle Pinzuto, is tackled twice. Not long after comes the 700-metre Strade del Castagno.
A rolling 14-kilometre stretch of tarmac then leads the way to a relatively straightforward 3.3-kilometre gravel sector, taking them back to Vico d’Arbia, which they passed 30 kilometres earlier. From here, they continue on familiar roads: first, the steadily rising Strade di Colle Pinzuto, then the climb to Le Tolfe.
The Le Tolfe sector is the last gravel road of the Strade Bianche – 1.1 kilometres long, finishing with a savage 18% ramp. Once they pass the chapel at the top, only 12 kilometres remain to the finish in Siena. It’s all on tarmac, but with constant ups and downs and plenty of twists and turns, it’s anything but easy. The winding road on the run-in to Siena favours attackers, as chasers will have difficulty pinpointing them.
From 4.5 kilometres out, the road descends before kicking up again in the final 1.7 kilometres. At first, it’s a false flat, but as the riders enter Siena’s old town, they hit the brutally steep stones of Via Santa Caterina. This 500-metre section climbs at 12%, with a nasty 16% ramp near the top. A sharp right-hand turn follows, then a left, then another right – and finally, the winner crosses the line, celebrating on the Piazza del Campo.
Siena’s famous square feels like a theatre. There’s no better place to finish one of the most photogenic races of the year.
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Other interesting reads: results and start list 2025 Strade Bianche.
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