The UAE Team Emirates rider confirmed his status as one of the pre-race favourites by taking an incredible win. Tadej Pogacar won Strade Bianche after an incredible 50 kilometers attack, taking a dominant win despite crashing early on in the race.
The breakaway consisted of Lilian Calmejane (AG2R Citroën Team), Davide Martinelli (Astana Qazaqstan Team), Taco van der Hoorn (Intermarché - Wanty - Gobert Matériaux), Edoardo Zardini (Drone Hopper - Androni Giocatolli), Simone Bevilacqua (EOLO-Kometa) and Team DSM duo Marco Brenner and Leon Heinschke. The remains of the group resisted until 53 kilometers to go which was around the time the race imploded.
Before that though, with 100 kilometers to go a mass crash marked the race, sending many of the main favourites down to the ground when a huge gust of crosswind took an Alpecin-Fenix rider down at the head of the peloton. The likes of Tiesj Benoot, Michael Matthews and Matej Mohoric abandoned, Julian Alaphilippe and Alejandro Valverde having to chase back and even Tadej Pogacar hit the deck. Eventually the Alaphilippe group returned to the front of the race.
At Monte Sante Marie, where the race was expected to blow up, Tadej Pogacar launched a daredevil move on one of the downhill sections and got a gap with 50 kilometers to go. INEOS' Carlos Rodriguez was the only rider briefly trying to bridge across, but without success.
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The peloton stuck together but the gap grew very quickly up to a minute, and hit a maximum of 1:40. Quick-Step, with Alaphilippe, Movistar and Trek put on a chase that didn't quite cut the gap but kept it stable. At Vico d'Arbia with 23 kilometers to go Kaspe Asgreen launched an attack in the peloton, followed by Narvaez, Simmons, Valverde and Wellens, and brought the gap down to a minimum of 50 seconds.
But the gap would not come down more than that, Asgreen attacked at Colle Pinzuto later going solo, being joined at Le Tolfe by Alejandro Valverde who then organized a chase, but one that would not eventually succeed.
Pogacar had time to enjoy the final ascent of the Via Santa Caterina, and took a victory in style at the Piazza del Campo. Alejandro Valverde and Kasper Asgreen wrapped up the podium shortly after.
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.
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- 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
- I'll say clean sweep all grand tourZamorano04-11-2026
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