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Strade Bianche 2024: New routes, TV and all you need to know
The youngest of the spring Classics, the Italian race Strade Bianche has enjoyed a meteoric rise in fame and prestige since its inception in 2007, including promotion to UCI WorldTour level in 2017. Famous for its gravel sections, this long loop out from Siena through the beautiful Tuscan countryside is favoured by one-day specialists who aren’t fazed by its sharp, punchy climbs.
The name comes from the Italian for ‘white roads,’ referring to the gravel that makes this race so difficult – and exciting and unpredictable. This year there’s more gravel than ever as the organisers audition for recognition as the sixth Monument – 15 sectors for the men, up from 11 last year, and totalling 71km, and 12 for the women, increased from eight.
The 18th edition takes place on Saturday 2nd March, the same day as the women’s race and on much of the same route. The women’s parcours is essentially the same in length as last year but the extra four strade bianche sections bring their total on the gravel up to 40km.
Ineos Grenadiers’ Tom Pidcock echoed Tadej Pogacar’s 2022 victory with a glorious long-range solo attack, while SD Worx could celebrate a podium one-two and an awkward bus back to the hotel after Demi Vollering snatched the win off teammate Lotte Kopecky at the finish.
It’s a race with a starry honour roll, including 2021 victor Mathieu van der Poel, who comes into the 2024 race off the back of a ludicrously successful cyclocross season, winning his sixth World title and 13 out of the 14 CX races he competed in.
Perennial rival Wout van Aert has also won Strade Bianche, in 2020, and will no doubt be bored of coming second to the Dutchman so far this year, winning just the one of their battles.
Michał Kwiatkowski, Julian Alaphilippe and Tiesj Benoot have also enjoyed victory on the white gravel in recent years, but Fabian Cancellara is the most successful rider ever in the race’s young history with three wins, in 2008, 2012 and 2016 – and it must be a good omen as he also claimed three wins on the infamous cobbles of Paris-Roubaix. His three wins have earned him a gravel section named in his honour, near Monte Sante Marie.
On the women’s side, Annemiek van Vleuten won it twice, in 2019 and 2020, but was denied a hat-trick by Kopecky in 2022. Fellow Dutchwoman Anna van der Breggen won in 2018 and home favourite Elisa Longo Borghini in 2017.
Megan Guarnier won the inaugural edition in 2015, while Britain’s Lizzie Deignan took the crown in 2016. After Vollering’s dominant 2023 she’ll be one to watch – as will teammate Kopecky after being pipped to glory last year.
Strade Bianche 2024: Key information
Date: Saturday 2nd March 2024
Start: Siena, Tuscany
Finish: Siena, Tuscany
Distance: Men’s 215km; Women’s 137km
Gravel Sections: Men’s 15; Women’s 12
UK television coverage: Eurosport, Discovery+
Taking place on Saturday 2nd March, Strade Bianche is the third significant one-day road race of the season, coming the weekend after the season-opening double of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne. It kicks off a glorious spring of racing, held the weekend before Tirreno-Adriatico, one of the earliest major stage races, and is an early indicator of who might enjoy further glory in April’s cobbled classics.
Strade Bianche 2024 men’s race preview
The men’s race gets an upgrade from 184km to 215km, for the first time going longer than 200km. 71km of that is gravel, with sections ranging from just 800m at Montaperti (albeit at double-digit gradients) to an 11.5km middle section, number 8, including the famous Monte Sante Marie climbs.
The longest gravel section peaks at 11.9km on section 5, with only a single kilometre on solid ground before section 6 hits another 8km of strade bianche. This part of the race is challenging not only for the unstable surface and climbs but the technical twists and turns of the route.
Most of the race will be familiar to viewers, but after an unchanged first 175km the riders will head into a 30km loop including the 12th gravel sector, the 1.3km Strada del Castagno. After that the route adds a 13th secteur – the 3.3km Montechiaro, which is as old as the race itself, appearing in 2007.
To finish off, the race heads back to sections 14 and 15 again, taking in the tough and potentially decisive climbs of Colle Pinzuto and Le Tolfe respectively – making these good vantage points for spectators, who get to see all the drama twice.
With the peloton whittled down to a select few, the survivors are then treated to the final punishing approach in Siena up the max 16% gradient Via Santa Caterina, ending as per usual descending into Piazza del Campo.
Strade Bianche 2024 route, profile and sectors – men’s
Strade Bianche 2024 women’s race preview
The 2024 women’s edition is 137km also starting and ending in Siena, beginning with the same relaxed rollout and first gravel section as the men’s, a 2.1km straight road inside the first twenty kilometres. The route misses out on the 11km-plus gravel secteurs, instead peaking with a 9.5km middle section which starts gently and ends with a twisting climb back to tarmac, and also contains the 800m spike at Montaperti. Multiple sections feature climbs over the 10% gradient mark, including several on a long uphill slog in section 2.
The women’s race also features the double loop featuring the two climbs of Colle Pinzuto (up to a 15% gradient) and le Tolfe (which reaches a grisly 18%).
The race ends with the same energy-sapping climbs through Siena’s historic town before 30 final metres of descending to the finish line, which featured a dramatic photo finish in 2023.
Strade Bianche 2024 route, profile and sectors – women’s
Strade Bianche 2024: How to watch
Women’s race: 11:00-13:00, live coverage, Eurosport, Discovery+
Men’s race: 12:50-16:00, live coverage, Eurosport, Discovery+
If it’s not being shown in your country, you may be able to watch coverage using a VPN – Virtual Private Network – which allows users to mask their IP address and watch geo-blocked content, provided they don’t need to pay for a subscription. This is also helpful for watching paid-for coverage while travelling abroad in countries without access.
One such example is ExpressVPN, which is very well reviewed, helps users to find way to watch cycling without having to pay for broadcasters services, and costs £5.36 per month with three-months free.
- Read more: How to watch cycling post-GCN+
Strade Bianche men’s previous winners
- 2023: Tom Pidcock (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers
- 2022: Tadej Pogačar (SVN) UAE Team Emirates
- 2021: Mathieu van der Poel (NED) Alpecin-Fenix
- 2020: Wout van Aert (BEL) Jumbo–Visma
- 2019: Julian Alaphilippe (FRA) Deceuninck-QuickStep
- 2018: Tiesj Benoot (BEL) Lotto-Soudal
- 2017: Michal Kwiatkowski (POL) Team Sky
- 2016: Fabian Cancellara (SUI) Trek-Segafredo
- 2015: Zdenek Stybar (CZE) Etixx-QuickStep
- 2014: Michal Kwiatkowski (POL) Omega Pharma-QuickStep
- 2013: Moreno Moser (ITA) Cannondale Pro Cycling
- 2012: Fabian Cancellara (SUI) Radioshack-Nissan
- 2011: Philippe Gilbert (BEL) Omega Pharma-Lotto
- 2010: Maxim Iglinsky (KAZ) Astana
- 2009: Thomas Lovkvist (SWE) Team Columbia-HTC
- 2008: Fabian Cancellara (SUI) CSC ProTeam
- 2007: Alexandr Kolobnev (RUS) CSC ProTeam
Strade Bianche women’s previous winners
- 2023: Demi Vollering (NED) SD Worx
- 2022: Lotte Kopecky (BEL) SD Worx
- 2021: Chantal van den Broek-Blaak (NED) SD Worx
- 2020: Annemiek van Vleuten (NED) Mitchelton–Scott
- 2019: Annemiek van Vleuten (NED) Mitchelton-Scott
- 2018: Anna van der Breggen (NED) Boels-Dolmans
- 2017: Elisa Longo Borghini (ITA) Wiggle-High5
- 2016: Lizzie Deignan (GBR) Boels-Dolmans
- 2015: Megan Guarnier (USA) Boels-Dolmans
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