UAE Team Emirates-XRG
| # | Rider | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tadej Pogacar | Slovenia |
| 2 | Jan Christen | Switzerland |
| 3 | Isaac del Toro | Mexico |
| 4 | Felix Großschartner | Austria |
| 5 | Domen Novak | Slovenia |
| 6 | Kevin Vermaerke | United States |
| 7 | Florian Vermeersch | Belgium |
Strade Bianche 2026 - Startlist
07.03
Tadej Pogačar won the 2026 Strade Bianche after launching a decisive attack on the gravel sector of Monte Sante Marie and riding solo for 79 km to the finish in Siena. The world champion finished more than a minute ahead of Paul Seixas, with Isaac del Toro taking third place. It was Pogačar’s fourth victory in the race and another dominant display. The win immediately sets the tone for the rest of the Classics season.
Startlist
Alpecin-Premier Tech
| # | Rider | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | Tibor Del Grosso | Netherlands |
| 12 | Francesco Busatto | Italy |
| 13 | Aaron Dockx | Belgium |
| 14 | Gal Glivar | Slovenia |
| 15 | Michael Gogl | Austria |
| 16 | Edward Planckaert | Belgium |
| 17 | Emiel Verstrynge | Belgium |
Bahrain Victorious
| # | Rider | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 21 | Matej Mohoric | Slovenia |
| 22 | Pello Bilbao | Spain |
| 23 | Fran Miholjevic | Croatia |
| 24 | Pau Miquel Delgado | Spain |
| 25 | Afonso Eulalio | Portugal |
| 26 | Attila Valter | Hungary |
| 27 | Edoardo Zambanini | Italy |
Bardiani-CSF 7 Saber
| # | Rider | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 31 | Filippo Magli | Italy |
| 32 | Martin Marcellusi | Italy |
| 33 | Alessio Martinelli | Italy |
| 34 | Luca Paletti | Italy |
| 35 | Mattia Stenico | Italy |
| 36 | Alex Tolio | Italy |
| 37 | Filippo Turconi | Italy |
Decathlon CMA CGM Team
| # | Rider | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 41 | Paul Seixas | France |
| 42 | Pierre Gautherat | France |
| 43 | Noa Isidore | France |
| 44 | Antoine L'Hote | France |
| 45 | Jordan Labrosse | France |
| 46 | Paul Lapeira | France |
| 47 | Gregor Mühlberger | Austria |
EF Education-EasyPost
| # | Rider | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 51 | Ben Healy | Ireland |
| 52 | Vincenzo Albanese | Italy |
| 53 | Richard Carapaz | Ecuador |
| 54 | Mikkel Honore | Denmark |
| 55 | Lukas Nerurkar | United Kingdom |
| 56 | James Shaw | United Kingdom |
| 57 | Michael Valgren | Denmark |
Groupama-FDJ United
| # | Rider | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 61 | Valentin Madouas | France |
| 62 | Clément Braz Afonso | France |
| 63 | Tom Donnenwirth | France |
| 64 | Kevin Geniets | Luxembourg |
| 65 | Lorenzo Germani | Italy |
| 66 | Romain Grégoire | France |
| 67 | Brieuc Rolland | France |
INEOS Grenadiers
| # | Rider | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 71 | Jack Haig | Australia |
| 72 | Lucas Hamilton | Australia |
| 73 | Kim Heiduk | Germany |
| 74 | Axel Laurance | France |
| 75 | Brandon Rivera | Colombia |
| 76 | Artem Shmidt | United States |
| 77 | Connor Swift | United Kingdom |
Lidl-Trek
| # | Rider | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 81 | Albert Withen Philipsen | Denmark |
| 82 | Andrea Bagioli | Italy |
| 83 | Patrick Konrad | Austria |
| 84 | Bauke Mollema | Netherlands |
| 85 | Jacopo Mosca | Italy |
| 86 | Quinn Simmons | United States |
| 87 | Matteo Sobrero | Italy |
Lotto-Intermarché
| # | Rider | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 91 | Lennert Van Eetvelt | Belgium |
| 92 | Simone Gualdi | Italy |
| 93 | Mathieu Kockelmann | Luxembourg |
| 94 | Liam Slock | Belgium |
| 95 | Reuben Thompson | New Zealand |
| 96 | Jenno Berckmoes | Belgium |
| 97 | Matthew Fox | Australia |
MBH Bank Ballan Telecom Fort
| # | Rider | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 101 | Marcin Budzinski | Poland |
| 102 | Luca Cretti | Italy |
| 103 | Marton Dina | Hungary |
| 104 | Alessandro Fancellu | Italy |
| 105 | Lorenzo Nespoli | Italy |
| 106 | Alessandro Verre | Italy |
| 107 | Samuele Zoccarato | Italy |
Movistar Team
| # | Rider | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 111 | Pavel Novak | Czech Republic |
| 112 | Roger Adrià | Spain |
| 113 | Albert Torres | Spain |
| 114 | Filip Maciejuk | Poland |
| 115 | Manlio Moro | Italy |
| 116 | Diego Pescador | Colombia |
| 117 | Gonzalo Serrano | Spain |
NSN Cycling Team
| # | Rider | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 121 | George Bennett | New Zealand |
| 122 | Pier-André Côté | Canada |
| 123 | Pau Martí | Spain |
| 124 | Krists Neilands | Latvia |
| 125 | Alessandro Pinarello | Italy |
| 126 | Nick Schultz | Australia |
| 127 | Floris Van Tricht | Belgium |
Pinarello-Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team
| # | Rider | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 131 | Tom Pidcock | United Kingdom |
| 132 | Xabier Azparren | Spain |
| 133 | Mark Donovan | United Kingdom |
| 134 | Brent Van Moer | Belgium |
| 135 | Quinten Hermans | Belgium |
| 136 | Xandro Meurisse | Belgium |
| 137 | Milan Vader | Netherlands |
Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe
| # | Rider | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 141 | Gianni Vermeersch | Belgium |
| 142 | Mattia Cattaneo | Italy |
| 143 | Emil Herzog | Germany |
| 144 | Gianni Moscon | Italy |
| 145 | Giulio Pellizzari | Italy |
| 146 | Adrien Boichis | France |
| 147 | Ben Zwiehoff | Germany |
Solution Tech-NIPPO-Rali
| # | Rider | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 151 | Franklin Archibold | Panama |
| 152 | Alexandre Balmer | Switzerland |
| 153 | Luca Verrando | Italy |
| 154 | Ben Granger | United Kingdom |
| 155 | Alessandro Iacchi | Italy |
| 156 | Tommaso Nencini | Italy |
| 157 | Andrea Piras | Italy |
Soudal Quick-Step
| # | Rider | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 161 | Filippo Zana | Italy |
| 162 | Gianmarco Garofoli | Italy |
| 163 | Junior Lecerf | Belgium |
| 164 | Pepijn Reinderink | Netherlands |
| 165 | Martin Svrcek | Slovakia |
| 166 | Louis Vervaeke | Belgium |
| 167 | Mauri Vansevenant | Belgium |
Team Jayco-AlUla
| # | Rider | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 171 | Filippo Conca | Italy |
| 172 | Alessandro Covi | Italy |
| 173 | Dries De Bondt | Belgium |
| 174 | Davide De Pretto | Italy |
| 175 | Anders Foldager | Denmark |
| 176 | Alan Hatherly | South Africa |
| 177 | Andrea Vendrame | Italy |
Team Picnic PostNL
| # | Rider | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 181 | Mattia Gaffuri | Italy |
| 182 | James Knox | United Kingdom |
| 183 | Robbe Dhondt | Belgium |
| 184 | Matthew Dinham | Australia |
| 185 | Alexy Faure-Prost | France |
| 186 | Bjoern Koerdt | United Kingdom |
| 187 | Oliver Peace | United Kingdom |
Team Polti VisitMalta
| # | Rider | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 191 | Adrián Benito | Spain |
| 192 | Gabriele Bessega | Italy |
| 193 | Aidan Buttigieg | Malta |
| 194 | Dario Giuliano | France |
| 195 | Francisco Muñoz | Spain |
| 196 | Andrea Pietrobon | Italy |
| 197 | Diego Sevilla | Spain |
Team Visma | Lease a Bike
| # | Rider | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 201 | Wout van Aert | Belgium |
| 202 | Filippo Fiorelli | Italy |
| 203 | Tijmen Graat | Netherlands |
| 204 | Matteo Jorgenson | United States |
| 205 | Timo Kielich | Belgium |
| 206 | Pietro Mattio | Italy |
| 207 | Tim Rex | Belgium |
Tudor Pro Cycling Team
| # | Rider | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 211 | Julian Alaphilippe | France |
| 212 | Roland Thalmann | Switzerland |
| 213 | Yannis Voisard | Switzerland |
| 214 | Lawrence Warbasse | United States |
| 215 | Fabian Weiss | Switzerland |
| 216 | Hannes Wilksch | Germany |
| 217 | Luc Wirtgen | Luxembourg |
Unibet Rose Rockets
| # | Rider | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 221 | Wout Poels | Netherlands |
| 222 | Cedrik Bakke Christophersen | Norway |
| 223 | Sergio Meris | Italy |
| 224 | Owen Geleijn | Netherlands |
| 225 | Jelle Johannink | Netherlands |
| 226 | Lander Loockx | Belgium |
| 227 | Clément Venturini | France |
Uno-X Mobility
| # | Rider | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 231 | Tobias Halland Johannessen | Norway |
| 232 | Markus Hoelgaard | Norway |
| 233 | Ådne Holter | Norway |
| 234 | Anders Halland Johannessen | Norway |
| 235 | Andreas Kron | Denmark |
| 236 | Fredrik Dversnes | Norway |
| 237 | Anders Skaarseth | Norway |
XDS Astana Team
| # | Rider | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 241 | Alberto Bettiol | Italy |
| 242 | Clément Champoussin | France |
| 243 | Anton Kuzmin | Kazakhstan |
| 244 | Marco Schrettl | Austria |
| 245 | Thomas Silva | Uruguay |
| 246 | Davide Toneatti | Italy |
| 247 | Simone Velasco | Italy |
How to watch?
Curious about how to watch the 2026 Strade Bianche? Discover it in our complete how-to-watch guide, featuring a full overview of all broadcasters and streaming options.
Route
The 2026 route has changed slightly but remains brutally hard: 202 kilometres with 3,500 metres of climbing, created not by mountains but by relentless short, steep ascents.
Riders face 64 kilometres of gravel across 14 sectors, from 600 metres to 11.7 kilometres, spread throughout the course. It is a race of attrition where positioning, tactics and a bit of luck matter as much as power.
The first decisive test is Lucignano d’Asso, the longest sector, where crashes, punctures and splits are common and the real racing begins. Monte Sante Marie follows and often sparks selection, featuring varied gradients and a key kilometre at 10 percent.
Later, Colle Pinzuto and Le Tolfe offer final chances to open gaps on strength. A loop added in 2024 brings a San Giovanni a Cerreto descent before Pinzuto and Tolfe return. The finish is decided on Siena’s Via Santa Caterina, with ramps up to 16 percent.
Read our preview for more information.
Favourites
Pogacar is the clear favourite. On this kind of course he is usually the strongest rider and UAE also bring the deepest team, which matters when the race can be decided by positioning, punctures and timing. They can still make it brutal from far out, but they do not have to. With Isaac del Toro as a second card, plus riders like Jan Christen and Florian Vermeersch, UAE can control the race and still have options if someone follows.
Pidcock looks like the most believable challenger. He was excellent here last year and his gravel handling lets him force situations rather than simply follow wheels. Matching Pogacar is one thing, making the race awkward is another, and that is where he can play.
Seixas is the wildcard. Decathlon can help early, but the big question is how long he can stay with the very best once the selections start. The route is not about long climbs, yet it is decided on repeated steep efforts, and on current form he should be in the front group.
Visma are not here with the usual UAE rivalry. Van Aert is back, but this race suits climbers more than it used to. A top ten is realistic, with Jorgenson likely the protected rider.
Outside the favourites, gravel specialists like Quinn Simmons and Gianni Vermeersch can feature, while experienced names like Bernal, Alaphilippe, Carapaz and Bilbao, plus punchy outsiders such as Romain Grégoire and Ben Healy, are worth watching.
Read our preview for more information and check out the start list via this link.
