Today marks the 12th edition of the Strade Bianche Women, officially opening the calendar for Italian women's racing. For years now, it has established itself as a true point of reference for the great champions who will battle it out among the Tuscan hills and the characteristic gravel sections. The route is 133 km long, of which 33 are gravel, compared to 2025 the number of sectors has gone from 12 to 11, but it will still be an extremely tough race with top-tier athletes.

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The first gravel section is positioned after 10.5 km from the start, with the sectors of Bagnaia (4.8 km) and Radi (4.4 km) to be tackled. Unlike 2025, there will no longer be the Piana sectors and the very long Serravalle stretch, replaced by a very brief gravel passage. The San Martino in Grania sector (9.4 km) is the longest of this edition and will lead into the final 50 km which are identical to the men's race. After a very brief fifth sector of just 600 m, the peloton will face Colle Pinzuto (2.4 km) with gradients up to 15%, then the first of two passages on the treacherous Tolfe climb. The eighth sector of Strada del Castagno is completely new and will then lead the race into a stretch of asphalt about ten kilometers long with a series of ups and downs. The Montechiaro sector (3.3 km) will be tackled and then there will be the second passage at Colle Pinzuto and the Tolfe. The gravel will end just over 10 km from the finish, but the route to Piazza del Campo will be anything but straightforward. Before entering Siena, the climb of via Esterna di Fontebranda will be faced with gradients up to 9%, but above all there will be the ramp of Via Santa Caterina which with its peaks of 16% will be the last real obstacle before reaching the finish line.

Everyone against Demi Vollering?

The race's roll of honor is dominated by the Netherlands, in 11 editions the orange have won 6 times, of which 3 alone with Anna Van Der Breggen and 2 with Demi Vollering. Belgium follows with two victories by Lotte Kopecky, while Italy stands at 1 with Elisa Longo Borghini's success in 2017.

It's almost unnecessary to say, but Demi Vollering, in addition to being the defending champion, presents herself at the start as the clear favorite. The Dutch superstar in just 4 days of racing has won 3 times with the overall classification at the Vuelta Valenciana, impressive numbers that are set to increase. There is great anticipation for the duel with Pauline Ferrand Prevot who has not yet raced in 2026, little is known about her form, but she will be on her ideal hunting ground and will certainly want to improve on last year's third place. At Visma Lease a Bike, it will be crucial to see the team tactics because there will be Marianne Vos, also making her seasonal debut, who will be essential both as a domestique and as another team leader. Anna Van Der Breggen and Lotte Kopecky with their SD Worx ProTime are absolutely worth keeping an eye on, together they have a treasure of 5 victories in Piazza del Campo, but this season they are far from peak form. Kopecky has only one day of racing in her legs and Van Der Breggen has never appeared particularly brilliant in the early races, but from two champions like them anything can be expected. Another athlete who begins her 2026 at Siena is Puck Pieterse, the very strong Dutch rider from Fenix Premier Tech comes from off-road racing and could find her ideal terrain precisely on the gravel, last year she finished seventh. She hasn't raced on the road since early August, but Puck has dedicated herself to cyclocross where she brought home a bronze medal at the world championships. When talking about Strade Bianche, one cannot overlook Kasia Niewiadoma, the Polish athlete finished second for three consecutive years and has always had a love-hate relationship with the race that last year forced her to retire.

Elisa Longo Borghini (Uae Team Adq) leads Italian hopes at the Strade Bianche, the Ossolana rider who already won in 2017 is seeking redemption after last year's problems that put her out of contention. Among the possible outsiders in the Italian selection is Monica Trinca Colonel (Liv Alula Jayco), last year the Valtellinese came close to the top ten and given her excellent performance at the Uae Tour could improve further.

Among the outsiders we highlight Liane Lippert (Movistar Team) who, despite the very tough course, could find her perfect day, not to forget the presence of Kimberley le Court Pienaar (Ag Insurance Soudal Team), it's not ideal terrain for the Mauritian champion, but by now she has accustomed us to incredible coups especially when the race gets tough. The world champion Magdeleine Vallieres (Ef Education Oatly) is also on the entry list, her best result is a 31st place in 2022, but as we know, the rainbow jersey is special...

in the attachment, the official start list