Strade Bianche Men LIVE – Pogačar aiming to become race’s joint-record winner

The leaders have crested Montalcino, and the peloton are about to follow. Not long now until the next gravel sector, Lucignano d’Asso, after which they come thick and fast.

The big question we’re all wondering as we get deeper and deeper into the race – when will Tadej Pogačar attack? Having gone from 50km for this 2022 win, and 80km last year, will he try to outdo himself this year with a more from even further out?

He stated prior to the race that he doesn’t intend to, but you can never quite be sure with the Slovenian, and if he feels in the mood, he could always attack spontaneously. All eyes will be on him.

150KM TO GO

The leaders’ advantage has grown out to 5-30 on the Montalcino, which they are still climbing.

Bad news to report – David Gaudu has abanoned the race after going down in a crash. That’s unfortunate given the strong start to the season he’s made, and his participation in Tirreno-Adriatico is now in doubt. 

It’s not just the weather today that shapes what the roads are like, but previous days’ conditions. One rider taking part, Quinn Simmons, observed how a week of warm weather has made the gravel looser than usual.

MONTALCINO

The leaders have just begun climbing Montalcino. It isn’t on gravel roads, but it’s still a hard climb nevertheless, averaging 4.8% for 6.5km. 

160KM TO GO

Over four and a half minutes for the leaders. They’re nearing the start of the Montalcino climb.

There have been a few crashes in the peloton, though we’re on the tarmac rather than the gravel. Diego Ulissi, Davide De Pretto, Natnael Tesfatsion and Alexy Faure Prost have all gone down.

The break’s all back together now, as the three dropped riders return. The race has calmed down enough for them to make it back up.

And now it’s down to 7, as Philipsen has a puncture. That’s some back luck for the 18-year-old, but an occupational hazard at this race.

The lead group has already broken up a little, with Petilli and Foldager both dropped and 30 seconds adrift. 

170KM TO GO

The gap between the leaders and peloton has stabilised. It’s now just under four minutes. 

Despite the extreme difficulty and huge time gaps last year, the organisers have for 2025 taken the steps of making Strade Bianche even harder. There has never been an edition with more than the 81.7km sectors of gravel that this year’s presents, and they’ve added a new, especially hard 9.5km Seravalle sector. 

It’ll further enhance the challenge of the race, but some fear that by making the race too hard, some of the subtlety that makes it such a finely balanced race will be lost.

LA PIANA

They’re back on the gravel for La Piana, although this one has easier gradients than the last, more downhill than uphill.

180KM TO GO

Over four minutes for the leading ten, as they continue to ride the Radi sector. The race is calm for now.

The peloton is still all together at this early phase of the race.

RADI

Time for the third gravel sector, named Radi. It’s a similar length to the previous two, at 4.4km. Longer, harder ones are to come.

Further up the road, the women’s peloton is already at the business end of the race. You can follow all of the action here.

Unsurprisingly, Pogačar’s UAE Team Emirates teammates have taken responsibility at the front of the peloton.

190KM TO GO

Philipsen and the other nine have a lead of three minutes on the peloton, as they make there way to the end of the Bagnaia sector.

Perhaps the most interesting name in the break is Albert Withen Philipsen. At the age of just 18, the Dane is the youngest man in the race, and huge things are expected of him in the future.  In fact, given the way riders become competitive at younger and younger ages these days, big things are even expected of him in the present. Can he stay out front for a while now that he’s slipped into the break?

Here’s the ten riders in the break: 

Stan Dewulf (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale)

Lewis Askey (Groupama-FDJ)

Connor Swift (Ineos Grenadiers)

Mark Donovan (Q36.5 Pro Cycling)

Johan Price-Pejtersen (Alpecin-Deceuninck)

Pepijn Reinderink (Soudal-QuickStep)

Simone Petilli (Intermarché – Wanty)

Albert Withen Philipsen (Lidl-Trek)

Anders Foldager (Jayco-AlUla)

Fabian Weiss (Tudor Pro Cycling)

BAGNAIA

They’re on the second sector, Bagnaia. This one’s uphill too, epitomising everything that makes this race so hard and so special.

Crucially, conditions out there are dry. This is a race where weather has an impact perhaps more than any other, what with its direct correlation with the condition of those all-important gravel roads. In this case, they will be dry and dusty rather than wet and muddy.

VIDRITTA

They’re on the first section now, the 4.4km Vidritta. 

It’s a strong break that’s gone up the road. Lewis Askey, Mark Donovan and Connor Swift are all there. 

That group of ten is approaching the Vidritta, the first of the day’s 16 gravel sectors. The riders will spend over a third of the whole race on these roads.

200KM TO GO

It seems we have our break of the day then. We’ll give a full-run down of who’s in it shortly. 

There are ten riders in this group, and they appear to have succeeded. There’s a minute between themselves and the peloton.

A group of riders are trying to go off the front.

213KM TO GO

And they’re off!

These days when it comes to races featuring Pogačar, the question doesn’t seem to be whether he will win, but by how much and through how long-range an attack. And there can be no doubt that he is the overwhelming favourite. 

But it’d be foolish to write this off as a foregone conclusion. The challenging and selective terrain of Strade Bianche plays into his hands, but the likelihood of mechanicals on the gravel roads does throw up a degree of unpredictability and fortune. If Pogačar does get a puncture or crash at the wrong moment, things could get very interesting.

Mohorič decided to pull out having felt unwell during the night. It sounds like he should be fine for Milan-Sanremo in a fortnight.

One rider not among them is Matej Mohorič, who pulled out at the start. That’s a real shame as the Slovenian would have been one of the favourites, having finished fifth last year and sixth the year before.

Pogačar and the other 173 riders taking part are at the neutralised section now, and will see the flag shortly. We’ll be racing soon!

In recent years, the race has become something of a procession for Tadej Pogačar, with his early attacks and long solo victories in both 2022 and last year sucking some of the drama out of the race. He’s on the startlist again today, aiming to win a third title and draw level on Fabian Cancellara as the only other man to have won three editions of Strade Bianche.

What makes it so special is of course the white gravel roads of Tuscany that gives it its name. These roads present a unique challenge that neither tarmac nor cobblestones can compare with, that produces a blend of difficulty, drama and visual spectacle that reliably makes for one of the best races of the season.

You join us for what is not only one of the highlights of the spring, but of the whole season. 

Strade Bianche is an exception in cycling, a race that, despite being relatively new, has in the space of less than 20 years, become one of the most popular and sought-after races on the calendar.

Welcome to Cyclingnews’ live coverage of Strade Bianche!