2025 Strade Bianche Live Coverage
Welcome to our live coverage of 2025 Strade Bianche! Our live profile and commentary are below, followed by a preview of the technical aspects of the route.
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For years, the Strade Bianche route remained unchanged, but last year, four additional gravel sectors were added, and this year, there’s yet another addition. The race spans 213 kilometres, with 81.7 kilometres on unpaved roads. Moreover, the winding gravel paths often feature double-digit gradients.
The first of sixteen gravel sectors comes after just 14 kilometres. It serves as a gentle warm-up: 4.4 kilometers long, with no climbs or descents. The second sector tells a different tale, featuring some steep ramps over 4.8 kilometres. The next two sterrati are easy again, measuring 4.4 and 6.4 kilometres, respectively.
By the time the riders clear the fourth gravel sector, they will have raced almost 50 kilometres. Smooth tarmac leads them to Montalcino, where a 4-kilometre climb at 5% ascends to the fortress town.
Shortly after the descent, the longest gravel sector of the day appears. It stretches for 11.9 kilometres long and concludes with a brief downhill. Almost immediately, sector 6 presents another 8 kilometers of unpaved roads, filled with climbs and descents.
The following sector is a new addition to the route – 9.3 kilometres long and featuring an early climb. A short stretch of tarmac leads onto the 9.5-kilometre San Martino in Grania sector, which concludes with a steep and winding ascent. A descent of nearly 9 kilometres takes the riders onto what is arguably the toughest sector of the race. Over 11.5 kilometres, this dusty (or muddy) road ascends steadily, although there are some tricky descents as well.
Over the next 18 kilometres, the surface is smooth, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy – the road constantly rises and falls. Then, within just 16 kilometres, the riders encounter four short gravel sectors. Sector 10 is only 800 metres long, but it is spiced up with a climb at double digits. Soon after, the Strade di Colle Pinzuto opens – 2.4 kilometres, including a brutal 15% ramp – and it doesn’t get much easier afterward, as a series of hairpin bends continues upward. A descent then leads to the punchy ascent to Le Tolfe, which, like Colle Pinzuto, is tackled twice. Not long after comes the 700-metre Strade del Castagno.
A rolling 14-kilometre stretch of tarmac leads to a relatively straightforward 3.3-kilometre gravel sector, taking them back to Vico d’Arbia, which they had passed 30 kilometres earlier. From here, they continue on familiar roads: first, the steadily rising Strade di Colle Pinzuto, followed by the climb to Le Tolfe.
The Le Tolfe sector is the final gravel road of the Strade Bianche – 1.1 kilometres in length, ending with a savage 18% ramp. Once they pass the chapel at the summit, only 12 kilometres remain to the finish in Siena. It’s entirely on tarmac, but with constant ups and downs, along with plenty of twists and turns, it’s anything but easy. The winding road on the approach to Siena favours attackers, as chasers will struggle to catch them.
From 4.5 kilometres out, the road descends before rising again in the last 1.7 kilometres. Initially, it presents a false flat, but as the riders enter Siena’s old town, they encounter the brutally steep stones of Via Santa Caterina. This 500-metre section climbs at 12%, with a nasty 16% ramp near the top. A sharp right-hand turn follows, then a left, then another right – and finally, the winner crosses the line, celebrating in the Piazza del Campo.
Siena’s famous square feels like a theatre. There’s no better place to finish one of the most photogenic races of the year.
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