Strade Bianche 2023: preview, route, schedule, live streaming

It’s everything ready for the Strade Bianche 2023. The well-known cycling race is set to be placed on Saturday, March 4. It will be the 17th edition of the competition sponsored by Crédit Agricole, which has established itself as a crucial event on the UCI World Tour schedule. Slovenian Tadej Pogacar was the most recent winner to grace Piazza del Campo.

Strade Bianche 2023 route, preview, schedule

The Strade Bianche Credit Agricole starts and ends in Siena, covering a distance of 184 km for men and 134 km for women, taking riders through an awe-inspiring landscape rich in history, culture, nature, and culinary delights. What sets this race apart, and gives it its name, are the 11 sectors of “white roads” or dirt roads that the riders must navigate. These roads make for a dramatic race as the riders disappear and then reappear from the clouds of dust raised by the motorcycles leading the way, giving the Strade Bianche a unique and thrilling character.

Only elite athletes have succeeded in winning this race, with Moreno Moser of Italy being the only Italian winner in 2013 and Swiss rider Fabian Cancellara having won it three times. In 2019, French rider Julian Alaphilippe took the win and went on to become World Champion in 2020 and 2021.

Starting at the Fortezza di Siena and ending in the world-renowned Piazza del Campo, the Strade Bianche takes riders through some of the most beautiful places in Tuscany and Italy, including Sociville, Monteroni d’Arbia, Murlo, Buonconvento, Montalcino, San Quirico d’Orcia, Pienza, Asciano, and Castelnuovo Berardenga. The race passes through ancient villages and rolling hills, renowned wine regions, and UNESCO World Heritage sites, offering a unique journey through the heart of Tuscany. Castelnuovo Berardenga is particularly notable, having been the site of the Battle of Montaperti, which saw Siena defeat Florence and its allies, leaving rivers stained with blood according to historical accounts. The battle is even referenced by Dante in both the Inferno and Purgatory.

The Strade Bianche 2022 is set to start at 11:45 am local time (05:45 in NY City) and will be streamed by Eurosport and GCN, which are subscription-based services (both men’s and women’s race live and on-demand).

Strade Bianche, winners and records

The record for the most Strade Bianche won is taken by Fabio Cancellara, who won three times in 2008, 2012, and 2016. In second place, there is polish Michal Kwiatkowski, who won two times in 2014 and 2017.

Here are the winners year by year:
2007: Alexandr Kolobnev (Russia), Team CSC
2008: Fabian Cancellara (Switzerland), Team CSC
2009: Thomas Lofkvist (Sweden), Team Columbia-High Road
2010: Maxim Iglinsky (Kazakhstan), Astana
2011: Philippe Gilbert (Belgium), Omega Pharma-Lotto
2012: Fabian Cancellara (Switzerland), RadioShack-Nissan
2013: Moreno Moser (Italy), Cannondale
2014: Michal Kwiatkowski (Poland), Omega Pharma-Quick-Step
2015: Zdenek Stybar (Czech Republic), Etixx-Quick-Step
2016: Fabian Cancellara (Switzerland), Trek-Segafredo
2017: Michal Kwiatkowski (Poland), Team Sky
2018: Tiesj Benoot (Belgium), Lotto-Soudal
2019: Julian Alaphilippe (France), Deceuninck-Quick-Step
2020: Wout Van Aert (Belgium), Team Jumbo-Visma
2021: Mathieu Van Der Poel (Netherlands), Alpecin-Fenix
2022: Tadej Pogačar (Slovenian), UAE Emirates