Strade Bianche is synonymous with solo victories. In the last ten editions, the race has almost always been won from a long way out — and often from a very long way. We’re talking solos of 18 kilometres (Pogacar, last year), 80 kilometres (Pogacar, 2024), 42 kilometres (Pidcock, 2023), 50 kilometres (Pogacar, 2022), 13 kilometres (Van Aert, 2020; Benoot, 2018), and 18 kilometres (Kwiatkowski, 2017). With a bit of imagination, you could even say that Van der Poel and Alaphilippe also took solo victories — in 2021 and 2019 respectively — after breaking claer from their last rivals in Siena itself, in the final kilometre.
The overarching story this year is whether Pogacar can claim his fourth Strade Bianche victory. He currently shares the record of three wins with Fabian Cancellara, who took victory in 2008, 2012, and 2016. So one more win will make the Slovenian sole record holder.
Last year, Pidcock was the best of the rest behind Pogacar. The Brit managed to hang on for a long time, but when the world champion accelerated on the steep, unpaved Colle Pinzuto, it was over. Pidcock quickly found himself facing a sizeable gap and eventually crossed the line one and a half minutes behind.
The year before, no one had any chance against the Slovenian. As mentioned, he launched his attack 80 kilometres from the finish and crossed the line nearly 3 minutes ahead of the first chasers, Skujins and Van Gils. Pidcock, the defending champion that year, finished fourth.
This year, Pogacar makes his season debut at Strade Bianche, so in theory it’s hard to gauge his form. In practice, however, it will likely be the opposite. In other words: who can stop him? Last season, he won nearly everywhere he wanted. Only at Milan–San Remo and Paris–Roubaix was another phenomenon able to outmuscle him — Van der Poel — but the Dutchman not racing in Tuscany.
The cycling world is eagerly anticipating the showdown between Pogačar and Seixas. Can the 19-year-old Frenchman already live up to his reputation? Superlatives fall short — and yes, it true, he was indeed very strong in the Ardèche Classic, where he put Christen, Martinez, and Jorgenson 2 minutes behind on a 40-kilometre solo. But that is no guarantee he can challenge the world champion. Still, it’s exciting to see a young rider emerging with such potential.
And yes, De Toro is also in the same league in terms of talent. The 22-year-old Mexican has what it takes to fight for victory at Strade Bianche. Notably, he went head-to-head with Van Aert in the Strade Bianche stage of last year’s Giro. The Belgian was smarter and tougher and claimed the win, but it could just as easily have gone the other way. Why he isn’t yet considered a top favourite is easy to guess: he rides on the same team as Pogacar.
Favourites 2026 Strade Bianche
**** Tadej Pogacar
**** Tom Pidcock, Paul Seixas
*** Wout van Aert, Isaac del Toro, Ben Healy
** Pello Bilbao, Florian Vermeersch, Tibor Del Grosso
* Julian Alaphilippe, Quinn Simmons, Egan Bernal, Attila Valter