Strade Bianche 2023 – How to watch on TV and live stream, route details, no Tadej Pogacar or Wout van Aert

“Europe’s most southern northern classic” is back for another year as the Tuscan dirt roads take centre-stage at Strade Bianche.

With defending champion Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) and Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) absent, the likes of Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) will be looking to grab top spot on the podium in the men’s race.

While the route is peppered with punchy climbs – not least the double-digit gradient into town in the final kilometre – it’s worth remembering that outright climbers rarely win the men’s race. In fact, Pogacar’s triumph in 2022 ended a run of 15 editions passing without a climbing specialist winning, although “climbing specialist” is only a small part of Pog’s prowess, with the parcours usually suiting fast finishers who can also produce the watts when going uphill.

Meanwhile in Strade Bianche Donne, Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx) will look to follow up her victory at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad with a successful title defence on the iconic white roads.

When is Strade Bianche 2023?

Starting and finishing in Siena, Strade Bianche and Strade Bianche Donne both take place on Saturday March 4.

How can I watch Strade Bianche 2023? Live stream details

Both Strade Bianche and Strade Bianche Donne will be broadcast on Eurosport 2, while you can watch uninterrupted coverage on eurosport.co.uk, GCN+ and discovery+.

Tune in from 10:30-12:50 GMT for the women’s race, and watch the men’s race from 12:50-16:15 GMT, with the coverage bookended by The Breakaway. We will also have live text commentary on eurosport.co.uk.

Strade Bianche 2023 route

The men’s route is 184km long and features 11 sections of white roads, or strade bianche, through the rolling hills of Tuscany on an anti-clockwise out-and-back loop south of Siena. In total there’s 63km of gravel, the longest section being 11.9km and the shortest just 800m.

The predominantly uphill section of Monte Sante Marie is 11.5km long and comes with 54km remaining, making it a potential springboard for an attack. The biggest climb of the day is the paved ascent to Montalcino after just 60km of racing. As the riders approach Siena they will face the 15% gradients of the Colle Pinzuto ahead of a series of technical descents towards the foot of the final brutal ramp into Siena, which peaks at 16%.

Strade Bianche Donne 2023 route

Strade Bianche Donne tackles eight sections of gravel for 31.6km out of the 136km route, which also starts and finishes in Siena. The two longest sections of strade bianche from the men’s race do not feature. Instead, the focal point of the race will be the tough 9.5km San Martino in Grania uphill section of gravel. Like the men’s race, the women tackle the arduous Colle Pinzuto ahead of the showpiece finale in the Piazza del Campo.

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