2022 Strade Bianche Race Preview
The details of this year's 2022 Strade Bianche are falling into place. Find the latest route profiles and maps below, followed by our strategic preview of the race.
The peloton heads to Tuscany for one of the most beloved and brutal one-day classics on the calendar, a race that has firmly established itself as a true monument of the sport in the eyes of many fans and riders alike. The white gravel roads of the Crete Senesi region provide a unique and unforgiving challenge, demanding both climbers and classics specialists in equal measure, with the finish line atop the Via Santa Caterina in Siena serving as one of the most dramatic conclusions in professional cycling.
The 2022 edition covers 184 kilometres for the men, incorporating eleven sectors of the famous strade bianche, the white gravel roads that give the race its name. These sectors total around 63 kilometres of dusty, loose terrain that can shred tyres, exhaust legs and reduce even the most accomplished riders to survivors rather than racers. The final sector into Siena comes at a moment when fatigue is absolute, making the technical and physical demands of the cobbled climb through the city feel almost impossibly cruel.
Tadej Pogacar arrives as one of the standout favourites having won the race in 2022 with a devastating acceleration that left his rivals helpless. The Slovenian has shown that he is equally capable on these punishing roads as he is in the mountains of the Tour de France, combining raw power with an exceptional ability to read a race. Defending champion Mathieu van der Poel will also be seeking to reclaim a race he has made his own in recent seasons, and his combination of strength, technical skill and tactical cunning makes him a perennial threat on this terrain.
Wout van Aert represents another constant danger, a rider whose diesel engine and relentless determination often prove decisive on long and brutal days. Tom Pidcock has announced himself as a serious contender for major honours this season and the young Briton thrives on challenging terrain, while Michal Kwiatkowski has the experience and the finishing ability to feature if the race comes together in the right way for him.
Weather will likely play a significant role as it so often does in early March in Tuscany. Rain can transform the gravel sectors into something almost impossible to navigate cleanly, turning the race into an even more brutal attrition exercise and potentially opening the door for unexpected protagonists. Dust and dry conditions favour the puncheurs who can accelerate cleanly and control their bikes at speed over loose surfaces.
The race almost always comes alive somewhere in the back half of the route, when the peloton has been whittled down by the relentless succession of gravel sectors and short, sharp climbs. Whatever happens, the streets of Siena will once again provide a fitting stage for a moment of genuine sporting drama.
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