The dust, drama, despair, and delight of Strade Bianche 2026 – Photo gallery

Strade Bianche 2026 delivered its customary blend of spectacle and suffering across the Tuscan *sterrato* this past weekend. The women's race saw Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) claim a dominant solo victory, her third consecutive win, further cementing her status as the undisputed Queen of the Strade. In the men's event, Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) outmaneuvered a strong breakaway group on the Via Santa Caterina, securing his second career Strade Bianche title after his 2021 triumph. Both races were characterized by aggressive early moves and decisive late-race attacks.

These victories carry significant weight for both riders and their teams. Kopecky's hat-trick places her in an elite pantheon, confirming her as a generational talent and a cornerstone of SD Worx-Protime's dominance in the Classics. For Van der Poel, his second win reasserts his gravel prowess after a challenging 2025 Classics campaign, signaling his formidable form heading into the spring. The race itself, now a UCI WorldTour fixture, continues to grow in prestige, its unique blend of history and demanding terrain making it an early-season barometer for the sport's top contenders.

Another year, another Strade Bianche where the dust settled, but the debate over who truly masters the white roads only intensified. The classics season, it seems, has officially begun.