As the 2023 World Tour and Women’s World Tour continue the season with the annual one-day classic Strade Bianche 2023, let’s have a look at a preview of the competition schedule, dates and route
Strade Bianche, literally means “White Roads” in Italian, refers to region’s famed white gravel roads, starting in Tuscany, central Italy and ending in Siena.
Strade Bianche 2023 schedule, dates, time, route map, start list, men and women’s races, live stream
It all comes down to these last 1100 m: skills, muscles, fatigue, hope. Here comes the last gravel section of the 2023 edition of the Strade Bianche @CA_Ita⬇️
📍 Le Tolfe – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📏 Length – 1.1 km
⛰ Uphill – 0.5 km
😱 Maximum gradient 18%#StradeBianche pic.twitter.com/MJw3DHBxEA— Strade Bianche (@StradeBianche) February 28, 2023
This is one of the most iconic sections of the Strade Bianche @CA_Ita. The road climbs, the gradient gets into double figures and the race explodes! ⬇️
📍 Monte Sante Marie – ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📏 Length – 11.5 km
⛰ Uphill – 4.5 km
😱 Maximum gradient 18%#StradeBianche pic.twitter.com/GK6gvqhcPs— Strade Bianche (@StradeBianche) February 14, 2023
The Strade Bianche is a one-day classic and will take place on Saturday 4 March, 2023 featuring host 25 men’s and 23 women’s teams.
The women’s Strade Bianche (Strade Bianche Donne) usually serves as the UCI Women’s World Tour season opener. This year however, it is the fifth race and the second in Europe on this year’s calendar. The Strade Bianche is also the fifth race for the men’s UCI World Tour 2023 season.
Ahead of the race, let’s check out a brief preview of all the aspects of the Strade bianche 2023.
Strade Bianche 2023 route
The Strade Bianche 2023 route for the men’s race is over 184.0km (114.3mi), including 11 gravel sectors totalling 63km (39mi). Meanwhile, the women’s race is over 136.0km (84.5mi) featuring 31.6km (19.6mi) of gravel sections. All the eight gravel sections also appear in the men’s course.
Both the men’s and women’s races will begin and end in Siena. The routes are made for all-round riders, consisting of short and punchy hills alongside demanding gravel sections. Among the gravel sectors, Sector 11 (Sector 8 for the women) is the most difficult climb of the day. It includes a hike up Le Tolfe with an incline of up to 18 per cent.
In the men’s route, Sector 5 is the longest gravel sector at 11.9km, which whittles down to Sector 6. The riders have just one kilometre of paved tarmac road in between to rest their legs. In the Strade Bianche 2023 women’s route, Sector 5 (Sector 7 for men) is the longest sector, located at San Martino in Grania. It is 9.5km long and it will definitely cause difficulties for the riders.
As for the final parts of the route in Siena riders will go under the Porta di Fontebranda. They will ride at a gradient of 16 per cent on Via Santa Caterina in the city. This will then follow up with a short descent to the finish line.
Strade Bianche 2023 Men’s riders to watch out
Sadly, Tadej Pogacar, the 2022 defending champion from UAE Team Emirates will not participate as he chooses to focus on the upcoming Paris–Nice stage race. Meanwhile, Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) who is also a previous winner will not participate due to illness.
As such, given below are some men’s riders to watch out for in the Strade Bianche 2023:
- Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal Quick-Step) – Two-time world champion
- Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck)
- Tom Pidcock (INEOS Grenadiers)
- Zdenek Stybar – Former champion
Strade Bianche Donne 2023 women’s riders to watch out
Given below is a list of the women’s riders to watch out at the upcoming Strade Bianche 2023:
- Lotte Kopecky (Team SD Worx) – Defending champion
- Annemiek van Vleuten (Movistar Team) – Two-time winner
- Amanda Spratt (Trek-Segafredo) – Current Women’s World Tour standings leader
- Elisa Longo Borghini (Trek-Segafredo) – 2017 champion
Strade Bianche 2023 Schedule
Given below is a full schedule for the Strade Bianche 2023, with estimated times in Central European Time:
| Strade Bianche, 4 March 2023 full Schedule | |
| Start/Finish Times | Events |
| 09:30 | Women’s race starts in Siena |
| 09:57 | Women’s race reaches first gravel sector (2.1km) |
| 10:09 | Women’s race reaches second gravel sector (5.8km) |
| 10:28 | Women’s race reaches third gravel sector (4.4km) |
| 10:45 | Women’s race reaches fourth gravel sector (5.5km) |
| 11:18 | Women’s race reaches fifth and longest gravel sector (9.5km) |
| 11:45 | Men’s race starts in Siena |
| 12:10 | Men’s race reaches first gravel sector (2.1km) |
| 12:20 | Men’s race reaches second gravel sector (5.8km) |
| 12:30 | Women’s race reaches sixth gravel sector (0.8km) |
| 12:37 | Men’s race reaches third gravel sector (4.4km) |
| 12:39 | Women’s race reaches seventh gravel sector (2.4km) |
| 12:52 | Men’s race reaches fourth gravel sector (5.5km) |
| 12:54 | Women’s race reaches eighth and last gravel sector (1.1km) |
| 13:16 | Women’s race finishes in Siena |
| 13:35 | Men’s race reaches fifth and longest gravel sector (11.9km) |
| 13:54 | Men’s race reaches sixth gravel sector (8.0km) |
| 14:28 | Men’s race reaches seventh gravel sector (9.5km) |
| 14:54 | Men’s race reaches eighth gravel sector (11.5km) |
| 15:38 | Men’s race reaches ninth gravel sector (0.8km) |
| 15:45 | Men’s race reaches 10th gravel sector (2.4km) |
| 15:56 | Men’s race reaches 11th and last gravel sector (1.1km) |
| 16:14 | Men’s race finishes in Siena |
The above timings are with the assumption that the average race speed for women is 36km/h and 41km/h for men:
How to watch Strade Bianche 2023
Fans across the world can watch the live action of the Strade Bianche on different platforms. In Italy, the RAI Sport and its platforms are the host broadcaster.
Meanwhile, fans in the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, can watch all the races using the GCN+ subscription service. Viewers across Europe can meanwhile watch all the races on GCN+, Eurosport, or on the Discovery+ streaming platform.
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