The participant list for the 11th edition of the Strade Bianche Women Elite Crédit Agricole has been officially confirmed, set to kick off the grand cycling weekend in the Crete Senesi tomorrow. Many contenders are vying for success in Piazza del Campo, with two-thirds of the 2024 podium leading the charge: Elisa Longo Borghini and Demi Vollering, both previous winners in 2017 and 2023 respectively. Among the athletes who have triumphed in the Most Southern Northern Classic in Europe are also Elizabeth Deignan (2016), in her final career season, and Anna Van der Breggen (2021), who returned to racing this year after three seasons as a sports director. Also present are the Tour de France Femmes 2024 winner Katarzyna Niewiadoma, Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio, Mavi Garcia, and Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig, all of whom have previously stood on the podium. Worth watching closely are European champion Lorena Wiebes, making her debut in this race but already winning four times this season, the cyclocross world champion Fem Van Empel, and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, returning to the Strade Bianche Women Elite for the first time since 2018.

THE COURSE

A very undulating course, both planimetrically and altimetrically, without long climbs but dotted with more or less steep sections, especially on unpaved roads. Approximately 50 km of dirt roads are divided into 13 sectors (all shared with the professional men's race), with well-maintained surfaces, firmly packed, free of grassy patches, and with minimal gravel on the surface.

Starting from Siena (Stadium/Medici Fortress area), the first kilometers are undulating on asphalt until reaching the 1st dirt sector (4.4 km), perfectly straight with only one curve midway and consistently slightly downhill.

A few kilometers separate this from the 2nd sector (4.8 km), the first true difficulty of the race, featuring a long uphill section with gradients exceeding 10%. Reaching Radi, riders encounter the 3rd sector (4.4 km) and immediately after the 4th "La Piana" sector (6.4 km), altimetrically less challenging, leading to Ponte d'Arbia. After a few hundred meters on the "Cassia", they tackle the new Serravalle sector (9.3 km), ending just before the start of the next sector (San Martino in Grania, 9.5 km) in the midst of the Crete Senesi. A long dirt sector with a succession of gentle ups and downs in the first part, concluding with a winding climb that returns to asphalt.

The final kilometers wind outside Siena's urban area on wide roads with long straights connected by broad curves, first descending and then slightly ascending until 2 km from the finish, where riders enter Via Esterna di Fontebranda with gradients up to 9%. At 900m from the finish, they pass through Porta di Fontebranda and begin the cobblestone pavement. The gradient exceeds 10%, reaching peaks of 16% around 500m from the finish on Via Santa Caterina. A sharp right turn follows onto Via delle Terme and then Via Banchi di Sotto. From 300m, the road is slightly downhill. At 150m, a right turn onto Via Rinaldini. At 70m, they enter Piazza del Campo, with the last 30m at a 7% descent, finishing on a flat surface.