Preview Strade Bianche Donne 2024 | After loose horse now cunning Vos who wants to hinder Kopecky and Vollering

Dust hopping, devilish descents and vicious Tuscan climbs: the Strade Bianche for women is on the program for the tenth time. The Italian spring classic guarantees spectacle and an unpredictable course. In addition, this year the field of participants is finger-licking good. IDLProcycling looks ahead to the rest of the spring for the ladies!

Last year we got to see a sensational Strade Bianche Donne. Among other things, a loose horse on the course made the race extra exciting for a while. In the end, particularly noteworthy was the incident between SD-Worx ladies Lotte Kopecky and Demi Vollering who got in front. The latter thought to be launched by her teammate, but Kopecky herself sprinted for the win. Vollering won, but the outcome did produce a lot of tumult in the end. These concerns are now worries of the past, as we will consider who may succeed Vollering next Saturday!

Practical information Strade Bianche Donne 2024

• Siena - Siena (138 km)
• Saturday, March 2, 2024
• Participants 
• Classification: women's WorldTour

In this article

• Latest winners
• Course, weather and times
• Favorites
• TV information

Latest winners Strade Bianche Donne

2023: Demi Vollering
2022: Lotte Kopecky
2021: Chantal Van den Broek-Blaak
2020: Annemiek van Vleuten
2019: Annemiek van Vleuten
2018: Anna van der Breggen
2017: Elisa Longo-Borghini
2016: Lizzie Deignan
2015: Megan Guarnier

Course, weather and times Strade Bianche Donne 2024

It is safe to say a few more times: the Strade Bianche is unique of its kind. The gravel roads crisscrossing the Tuscan landscape give the race a unique character. For the men this year there was even an extra long distance waiting, for the women this extension is largely omitted. However, the finale has changed considerably and the number of unpaved kilometers has increased considerably: from a good thirty to a good forty in total. What a treat for the technical ladies! The start and finish in Siena are the same. The ladies will enter the beautiful Piazza del Campo in the city center.

The loop through Tuscany is shorter this year and the loop added for the men will be contested in the final around Siena also for the women. After the well-known gravel strip of Le Tolfe, a different route than usual is taken and a number of new gravel strips follow, starting with the Strada del Castagno. Next, the Montechiari strip is new and is mainly a downhill. So be careful, but perhaps also a chance to force something for the technically strong riders.

After these two new strips, the real deep finale begins, with the Colle Pinzuto and Le Tolfe again as the last two unpaved strips. After this it undulates on towards the breathtaking finish city of Siena. There, as per tradition, the cunning and tricky finale awaits the riders with the vicious final climb to the Piazza del Campo. This short ascent has a maximum percentage of sixteen percent and, provided there has not yet been a final cut, could be suitable for a final attack. The finish is toward the medieval square.

Gravel strips
Begins after.
14.2 km: Vidritta (2.1 km)
21.5 km: Bagmaia (5.8 km)
33.1 km: Radi (4.4 km)
49.1 km: La Piana (6.4 km)
60.6 km: San Martino in Grania (9.5 km)
83.4 km: Monteaperti (0.6 km)
87.7 km: Colle Pinzuto (2.4 km)
94 km: Le Tolfe (1.1 km)
97.4 km: Strada del Castagno (1.3 km)
114.5 km: Montechiaro (3.3 km)
117.9 km: Colle Pinzuto (2.4 km)
124.2 km: Le Tolfe (1.1 km)

Weather
Tuscany's mercurial weather this week means there is a chance that the course will be muddy rather than dusty. The day itself will determine that, and currently the weather is forecast to be changeable, with a chance of sun but also showers. Thursday and Friday are also important, and they will be mostly rainy. So there is a good chance that the course will not be completely dry either way, and that will affect the course!

Times
Start: about 9:30 a.m.
Finish: about 1:45 p.m.

Favorites Strade Bianche Donne 2024

There are four former winners in Siena. The last two ride for SD Worx-Protime and they might just be left in the final again: Lotte Kopecky and Demi Vollering. Both ladies showed good form again in recent weeks. Kopecky won the UAE Tour as an all-rounder with flying colors, while both the Belgian and Vollering performed strongly again at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. With European champion Mischa Bredewold also in the ranks, the Dutch top team will probably have several assets to play deep into the final.

Competition, on the other hand, is plentiful. What about Marianne Vos? Funnily enough, Vos has never won in Strade Bianche. The Brabant native, 36 now, already proved her form at the Tour of Valencia and cashed it in with a fine win in the grueling Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. In this race she survived the shifts and sprinted to victory, where many of the ladies starting in Italy were also present. Moreover, she has a huge bag of cross experience with her. The same, of course, goes for Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck) and Shirin van Anrooij (Lidl-Trek). They both also performed well in the Omloop.

The latter will form a tandem with Elise Longo Borghini. The Italian from Lidl-Trek has also already caught the form and won Strade Bianche in 2017. The same goes for Lizzie Deignan, she won the gravel race in 2016. However, the British did not yet show the high form of yesteryear, but could always surprise. The same goes for Spain's Mavi Garcia, who showed her toughness at the UAE Tour. Names UAE ADQ can Silvia Persico get far and also Katarzyna Niewiadoma is a dangerous dark horse to make things difficult for the Low Countries.

The aging Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio we also include as a shadow favorite. Namena Visma | Lease a Bike's Riejanne Markus is a contender as an all-around star and adding to SD Worx-Protime's long list of favorites is also looking out for Niamh Fisher-Black, who most recently won a tricky stage at the Tour of Valencia

According to IDLProcycling, who are the favorites for Strade Bianche Donne 2024?

Top favorites:Marianne Vos (Visma | Lease a Bike), Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime)
Outsiders:Demi Vollering (SD Worx-Protime), Elisa Longo Borghini and Shirin van Anrooij (both Lidl-Trek), Puck Pieterse (Alpecin-Deceuninck)
Long Shots: Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Canyon//SRAM Racing), Silvia Persico (UAE Team ADQ), Mischa Bredewold and Niamh Fisher-Black (both SD Worx-Protime), Riejanne Markus (Visma | Lease a Bike), Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (AG Insurance-Soudal Team), Mavi Garcia (Movistar)

TV Strade Bianche Donne 2024

The Strade Bianche Donne starts early Saturday morning and will be broadcast from lunchtime. Eurosport will be there from noon, broadcasting from the main channel Eurosport 1. For those without TV, the race can also be followed via the stream at Eurosport.nl ;