Strade Bianche 2022: When is the race, which teams are racing and what TV channel is it on?

What is this race and why should I care about it?

Strade Bianche is a unique race in the professional calendar that has earned a place in the hearts of cycling fans despite its relatively short existence. While amateurs are often found aping their heroes, the first Italian race of the WorldTour season reverses the paradigm.

Taking its lead from the huge popularity of Eroica, the non-competitive amateur event that traverses the chalky white roads of Tuscany and requires riders to complete the event on retro steel bicycles, RCS Sport, organisers of the Giro d'Italia, launched Strade Bianche in 2007 – then called Monte Paschi Eroica – when Alexandr Kolobnev prevailed.

Swiss classics specialist Fabian Cancellara won the first of the three Strade Bianche titles he claimed – he remains the most successful rider on the white roads – the following year in 2008. Unsurprisingly, the race has become a particular favourite with the classics riders, particularly since its move to the earlier part of the calendar from its original October slot – other than 2020's event that was switched to August as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Previous winners include Philippe Gilbert, Michal Kwiatkowski, Zdenek Stybar, Julian Alaphilippe, Wout van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel while Moreno Moser remains the sole Italian to have won the race.

Strade Bianche earned itself WorldTour status in 2016. The eighth edition of the women's edition takes place on the same day as the men's race and in 2022 once again acts as the curtain-raiser to the Women's WorldTour.

When is Strade Bianche?

The men's race gets under way at 11.45am (10.45am GMT) on Saturday March 5, 2022. The women's race starts at 9.15am (8.15am GMT).

How long is this year's race?

Strade Bianche is just 184 kilometres long, the women's race is 136km.

What routes do the races follow?

Both races set off from Siena and follow a circuitous route, in an anti-clockwise direction, heading south towards Buonconvento at which point the routes diverge. Once the riders reach the most southerly points of the day, they change direction and head back north towards Siena.

While the route for the women's race looks like this which is, essentially, the same as the men's but without the loop south of Buonconvento . . .

And what do the profiles look like?

This is the men's race . . .

. . . and here's the women's . . .

How much of each race is on strade bianche?

There are 11 sectors in the men's race, covering around 63km in total – 34.2% of the course – while the women's features eight (31.4km, 23.1% of course).

How long is each sector and where are they?

After setting out from Siena, the riders will be treated to just under 18km of smooth asphalt before reaching the race's first sector of gravel . . .

Following a brief return to the asphalt, a slightly tougher stretch awaits:

Two further sections follow at 36.9km and 47.6km respectively.

And then following a 6.4km-long stretch of asphalt, there's another one:

After almost 20km of respite, it is time for the longest stretch of gravel.

A very short 1km stretch of asphalt punctuates back-to-back sectors.

By this point in the race, it is widely expected that if they have not already done so the main protagonists will start to position themselves in preparation for what follows beyond the feed zone in Ponte d’Arbia at the 102.6km mark having passed through Buonconvento for the second time.

Once sector seven is completed, there's an asphalt-covered descent towards the most famous and feared section of the race (see below video).

Positioning here may be key, and while amateurs would take advantage of the smooth surface and freewheel for a couple of kilometres, the stronger riders on Saturday afternoon will do nothing of the kind. Similarly to Paris-Roubaix, attacks often follow immediately after gravel sections.

Here's a closer look at most of that sector, for those that like these things:

The following 20km may all be on asphalt, but the road undulates, just as riders’ ambitions may do as their exertions start to take their toll. There’s a further 300 metres of gravel, though it is not an official ‘sector’.

Final 20km of the men's race

With just under 24km of the race to go, the selection will either have been made with the main protagonists near the front, or will be in the post.

Four kilometres later and the riders will be onto the final gravel sector.

So, what does the finale of the race look like?

With 12km remaining, those still in with a chance of winning Strade Bianche will have to keep their cool. Numerous short climbs pepper the run-in back towards Siena before they arrive at the old walled city.

Final 3km of the route

On entering the city beneath the Fontebranda Gate, the leading riders will hit the large paving slabs that are seen all across the city of Siena. Now within the city walls, riding along the narrow streets and under a kilometre from the finishing line in the famous old Piazza del Campo – where the medieval Palio di Siena horse race traditionally takes place each July and August – the road rises one last vicious time.

Twisting finale into Piazza del Campo

At around 500 metres from the line the steepest stretch of road along Via Santa Caterina cruelly tops out at 16 per cent – it was here that did for Wout van Aert in 2018 when the young Belgian cramped up (see below) – before the road takes a sharp right. A left-hand turn is followed by another right hander before the riders, finally, arrive in Piazza del Campo.

Providing they have any horse-power left, once they have navigated a short descent the riders can gallop for the line on one of the few pan-flat stretches of the entire course, which clocks in at a measly 30 metres long.

How can I watch this year's race?

Those lucky enough to have subscriptions to Eurosport or GCN can follow all the action on either television or the app. If you cannot watch the race live then you can follow the second half of both races right here. Bookmark this page and return on the day of race for the latest updates.

What teams will ride at Strade Bianche?

As with all WorldTour races, each of the 18 teams that make up the top-flight of men's professional cycling receive an invite and in the case of Strade Bianche 17 of them will be on the starting line. In addition to the WorldTeams, Pro-Continental teams (ProTeams) Alpecin-Fenix and Arkéa-Samsic also qualified due to leading last year's rankings, while race organisers RSC handed wildcard spots to Bardiani-CSF-Faizane, Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli and Eolo-Kometa.

What does the men's startlist look like?

WorldTeams

Ag2r-Citroën (Fra): Clément Berthet (Fra, neo-pro), Lilian Calmejane (Fra), Benoît Cosnefroy (Fra), Michael Schär (Swi), Greg Van Avermaet (Bel), Andrea Vendrame (Ita), Clément Venturini (Fra).

Astana Qazaqstan (Kaz): Leonardo Basso (Ita), Manuele Boaro (Ita), Michele Gazzoli (Ita, neo-pro), Miguel Ángel López (Col), Davide Martinelli (Ita), Gianni Moscon (Ita), Simone Velasco (Ita).

Bahrain Victorious (Brn): Pello Bilbao (Spa), Heinrich Haussler (Aus), Matej Mohoric (Slo), Alejandro Osorio (Col), Hermann Pernsteiner (Aut), Jan Tratnik (Slo), Edoardo Zambanini (Ita, neo-pro).

BikeExchange-Jayco (Aus): Sam Bewley (NZ), Kevin Colleoni (Ita, neo-pro), Tsgabu Grmay (Eth), Alexander Konychev (Ita), Michael Matthews (Aus), Matteo Sobrero (Ita).

Bora-Hansgrohe (Ger): Cesare Benedetti (Ita), Patrick Gamper (Aut), Sergio Higuita (Col), Jai Hindley (Aus), Patrick Konrad (Aut), Ide Schelling (Hol), Ben Zwiehoff (Ger).

DSM (Ger): Nikias Arndt (Ger), Marco Brenner (Ger, neo-pro), Romain Combaud (Fra), Chris Hamilton (Aus), Leon Heinschke (Ger, neo-pro), Joris Nieuwenhuis (Ned).

EF Education-EasyPost (US): Jonathan Caicedo (Ecu), Ruben Guerreiro (Por), Ben Healy (Irl, neo-pro), Tom Scully (NZ), Michael Valgren (Den), Marijn van den Berg (Ned, neo-pro).

Groupama-FDJ (Fra): Lewis Askey (GB, neo-pro), Antoine Duchesne (Can), Fabian Lienhard (Swi), Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe), Thibaut Pinot (Fra), Sébastien Reichenbach (Swi), Attila Valter (Hun).

Ineos Grenadiers (GB): Richard Carapaz (Ecu), Jhonatan Narváez (Col), Salvatore Puccio (Ita), Carlos Rodríguez (Spa), Ben Swift (GB), Ben Turner (GB, neo-pro).

Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux (Bel): Jan Bakelants (Bel), Theo Delacroix (Fra, neo-pro), Quinten Hermans (Bel), Simone Petilli (Ita), Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita), Lorenzo Rota (Ita), Taco van der Hoorn (Ned).

Israel-Premier Tech (Isr): Matthias Brändle (Aut), Alexander Cataford (Can), Simon Clarke (NZ), Jakob Fuglsang (Den), Taj Jones (Aus, neo-pro), Krists Neilands (Lat), Guy Sagiv (Isr).

Jumbo-Visma (Ned): Tiesj Benoot (Bel), Koen Bouwman (Ned), Robert Gesink (Ned), Sepp Kuss (US), Timo Roosen (Ned), Milan Vader (Ned).

Lotto-Soudal (Bel): Victor Campenaerts (Bel), Roger Kluge (Ger), Andreas Kron (Den), Harry Sweeny (Aus, neo-pro), Maxim Van Gils (Bel, neo-pro), Brent Van Moer (Bel), Tim Wellens (Bel).

Movistar (Spa): Jorge Arcas (Spa), Lluís Mas (Spa), Mathias Norsgaard (Den), Nelson Oliveira (Por), Einer Rubio (Col), Gonzalo Serrano (Spa), Alejandro Valverde (Spa).

Quick Step-Alpha Vinyl (Bel): Julian Alaphilippe (Fra), Kasper Asgreen (Den), Dries Devenyns (Bel), Mikkel Frolich Honore (Den), Mauro Schmid (Swi, neo-pro), Pieter Serry (Bel), Louis Vervaeke (Bel).

Trek-Segafredo (US): Gianluca Brambilla (Ita), Dario Cataldo (Ita), Alexander Kamp (Den), Quinn Simmons (US), Toms Skujins (Lat), Edward Theuns (Bel), Antonio Tiberi (Ita).

UAE Team Emirates (UAE): Mikkel Bjerg (Den), Alessandro Covi (Ita), Vegard Stake Laengen (Nor), Tadej Pogacar (Slo), Maximiliano Richeze (Arg), Marc Soler (Spa), Diego Ulissi (Ita).

ProTeams

Alpecin-Fenix (Bel): Floris De Tier (Bel), Michael Gogl (Aut), Xandro Meurisse (Bel), Stefano Oldani (Ita), Robert Stannard (Aus), Scott Thwaites (GB), Gianni Vermeersch (Bel).

Arkéa-Samsic (Fra): Warren Barguil (Fra), Anthony Delaplace (Fra), Miguel Eduardo Flórez (Col), Élie Gesbert (Fra), Romain Hardy (Fra), Alan Riou (Fra), Clément Russo (Fra).

Bardiani-CSF-Faizane (Ita): Johnatan Cañaveral (Col), Filippo Fiorelli (Ita), Davide Gabburo (Ita), Alex Tolio (Ita), Giovanni Visconti (Ita), Filippo Zana (Ita), Samuele Zoccarato (Ita).

Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli (Ita): Juan Diego Alba (Col), Mattia Bais (Ita), Gabriele Benedetti (Ita), Umberto Marengo (Ita), Simone Ravanelli (Ita), Jhonatan Restrepo (Col), Edoardo Zardini (Ita).

Eolo-Kometa (Ita): Vincenzo Albanese (Ita), Simone Bevilacqua (Ita), Marton Dina (Hun), Erik Fetter (Hun), Sergio García (Spa), Samuele Rivi (Ita), Diego Pablo Sevilla (Spa).