2023 Strade Bianche Race Preview
The details of this year's 2023 Strade Bianche are falling into place. Find the latest route profiles and maps below, followed by our strategic preview of the race.
The white roads of Tuscany await once more as professional cycling prepares for one of its most visually stunning and physically brutal one-day races. Strade Bianche has rapidly established itself as a modern classic since its inception in 2007, and the 2023 edition promises another day of chaos, beauty and suffering across the iconic gravel roads around Siena.
The race covers approximately 184 kilometers for the men, with the legendary white gravel sectors, known as strade bianche, making up a significant portion of the route. These unpaved roads, ranging from dusty and loose to rutted and demanding, tear through the rolling Tuscan hills and have a unique ability to shatter the peloton and expose any weakness in a rider's legs or nerve. The route finishes with a brutal climb up Via Santa Caterina in Fontebranda into the heart of Siena, a punishing final ascent that has decided so many editions of this race.
Defending champion Mathieu van der Poel arrives as one of the most anticipated starters. The Dutchman's raw power and ability to accelerate violently on rough terrain make him perfectly suited to this parcours, and he will be eager to defend his title in convincing fashion. Alongside him, Tadej Pogacar presents perhaps the most serious threat. The Slovenian has an almost supernatural ability to read races and has shown he relishes the unpredictable nature of the gravel sectors.
Tom Pidcock showed tremendous promise in previous editions and will be looking to go one better this time around, while Wout van Aert, despite managing a busy early season schedule, always raises his level for races of this magnitude. The Classics specialists will also fancy their chances, with riders like Julian Alaphilippe capable of a devastating attack on the final climb.
Weather and dust conditions will play their usual role in shaping the day. A dry run-in to race day tends to make the gravel sectors looser and more treacherous, increasing the likelihood of punctures and crashes that can eliminate contenders in an instant. Positioning before each sector becomes critical, with teams working hard to place their leaders near the front before the roads narrow and the peloton inevitably fractures.
Expect the race to come alive on the later gravel sectors, particularly the long and demanding Colle Pinzuto stretch, which has historically been a launchpad for winning moves. Those who have saved energy through the middle portion of the race will find themselves rewarded, while those who burned too many matches chasing earlier moves may find the final climb an unforgiving place to be.
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