On March 5th World Tour racing resumes, now in Italy as the peloton will go through the gravel roads of Tuscany for the Strade Bianche, one of the most unique events on the calendar which also always lures in many of the best riders in the world, who seek a big win in Siena after going through the many steep climbs and sketchy descents that the route has to offer.
The 184 kilometers that Strade Bianche will present this year are a replica of the last few editions where it has provided for some of the most exciting racing year-long. Making a loop around Tuscany, with start and finish in the city of Siena, the route includes 3100 meters of climbing and a lot of those take place in gravel roads which makes this an unique race in the World Tour calendar.
Over the course of the race there are 63 kilometers of gravel roads separated into 11 sectors of very variable distances. They are spread all across the race with the final sectors being shorter as the riders approach Siena, with the most important sectors being Monte Sante Marie (43Km to go), Colle Pinzuto (17Km to go) and Le Tolfe (11Km to go). The decisive finale in Siena is usually settled in the brutal Via Santa Caterina which features 16% just a few hundred meters before the technical finish at Piazza del Campo.
Read also
The final startlist includes the likes of Greg van Avermaet, Benoît Cosnefroy, Pello Bilbao, Matej Mohoric, Simon Clarke, Jakob Fuglsang, Quinn Simmons, Michael Gogl, Michael Matthews, Lorenzo Rota, Domenico Pozzovivo, Richard Carapaz, Jhonatan Narváez, Sergio Higuita, Patrick Konrad, Miguel Ángel López, Gianni Moscon, Tim Wellens, Tiesj Benoot, Julian Alaphilippe, Mikkel Honoré, Kasper Asgreen, Tadej Pogacar, Diego Ulissi, Alessandro Covi, Thibaut Pinot, Alejandro Valverde, Gonzalo Serrano and Warren Barguil.
You will be able to keep up with the race here on CyclingUpToDate as we bring you the race report and interviews surrounding the opening weekend.
Siena - Siena (Piazza del Campo), 184.6Km
Rúben SilvaEditor-in-Chief
A founding contributor to CyclingUpToDate since its launch in January 2022, Ruben Silva has played a central role in shaping the site’s editorial direction and long-term growth. Before joining the project, he built his experience through independent blogging at Echelons Hub and by producing race previews for Ciclismo Internacional, developing a strong analytical voice rooted in daily engagement with professional cycling.
Beyond editorial work, he has been closely involved in the expansion and coordination of CyclingUpToDate’s wider network, helping establish and support sister platforms across multiple languages. This includes ongoing collaboration with CiclismoAlDia (Spanish), CiclismoAtual (Portuguese), WielrennenUpToDate (Dutch), and RadsportAktuell (German), contributing to a shared editorial vision and consistent international coverage.
He also helps oversee editorial governance across the network, setting standards for accuracy and consistency and coordinating updates or corrections when needed.
Originally from the Porto metropolitan area in Portugal, he holds a bachelor’s degree in Geography. His path into cycling journalism was shaped not through formal media training, but through independent reporting, community engagement, and sustained on-the-ground involvement in the sport.
Over the course of his career, he has conducted approximately 100 interviews across road cycling and cyclocross, ranging from one-to-one conversations and online formats to press conferences and on-site pre- and post-race coverage. His interviews include leading riders, team managers, and prominent figures within cycling media: Tadej Pogacar, Jonas Vingegaard, Mathieu van der Poel, Primoz Roglic, Wout van Aert, Joao Almeida and Tom Pidcock; managers like Patrick Lefevere and Joxean Matxin; and YouTube personality Bryan Kennedy (BKXC)...
Within 18 months of launch, he helped grow CyclingUpToDate’s English-language platform into one of the most-read cycling news websites, built entirely from the ground up. As both a professional journalist and lifelong cycling enthusiast, his focus remains on delivering accurate, timely, and well-contextualized coverage.
claps 0visitors 0
Just in
Popular news
Latest comments
- yeah... you're right...PogiSloFans04-11-2026
- Podcast sounds great. Two so called experts stating the f*cking obvious.wrsty04-11-2026
- A mindset that reminds me of Tim Declerq. I loved watching that guy just pound away the kilometers, hours at the front, holding an entire breakaway in check on his own. Bjerg seems like a similar guy. Curling, the team sport.RidesHills04-11-2026
- He will be lol, but he can still win on the climbs hahaawp04-11-2026
- I would love to have his inconsistency. How many wins this year? 2 TdF stages, a WC, a Euro championship, San Sebastian, multiple wins early year. Monument podiums. I'd take it. I don't think he has a chance in the TdF, but he is still amazing.mij04-11-2026
- He's not going to win the TdF. Maybe if they make every single stage a TT he could win. But I still believe Tadej would just sharpen his TT skills and win.mij04-11-2026
- You beat me to it. Should he make a full recovery (likely) and go light early in the year. One, two, three. Don't ask me, I don't give a damn. Should he be on a Feel-Like-He's-Fixin'-to-Die High.Yepperoni04-11-2026
- The deciding factor may be the (TBD) number of (any type of) kilometers without Pogacar.Yepperoni04-11-2026
- Unexplained chronic fatigue is an all too common bitch. The hard to find definitive answer may lie buried in gut mechanisms. A mystery of the deep.Yepperoni04-11-2026
- It's weird to say Evenepoel would be making a "serious mistake by adding the 2027 Giro d'Italia to his calendar, warning that such a decision could even be interpreted as a lack of confidence in his ability to win the Tour de France." It may well be a mistake but with so many commentators (of all sorts) continuously claiming almost everything Remco does as being a mistake, almost nobody should care what the pundits and the disparagers should say. His team may not want him to do the Giro, and that matters. But it's possibly or probably up to Remco to decide and it may not have to be decided on until a month or so ahead of the race. Yes , Remco is inconsistent much like the majority of the best riders but he's enjoying a period of not having been recently injured (or sick). Whatever he does he need not be concerned with critics who will second guess any perceived failure no matter what. I suspect he will have enough other races on his schedule so he won't be considering it. But the worst reason to not race it is because of what some will say - humorous that be.Yepperoni04-11-2026
Loading
Write a comment