How to watch Strade Bianche in Canada

Bike racing is in full swing now that we are in March. There are eight WorldTour and five Women’s WorldTour events lined up between March 8 and 30. On Saturday, the spectacular Strade Bianche goes down with its difficult parcours and gravel roads.

Men’s race: Pogi time?

In 2024, UAE Team Emirates’ Tadej Pogačar was simply incredible, attacking with an 81-km solo attack. He returns hoping to add a third win of the Italian race to his palmarès. But watch out for 2022 champion Tom Pidcock. He seems to be reinvigorated for 2024 on his new home with Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team.

The Brit has already shown some fine form, with two wins to his name already this year.

Battle Royale in the women’s event

In the women’s race, Lotte Kopecky of SD Worx-Protime is hungry for another win. Runner-up Elisa Longo Borghini, fresh off winning the UAE Tour for UAE Team ADQ, is back. Defending champion Demi Vollering is with a new team, FDJ-Suez, while Tour de France winner Katarzyna Niewiadoma and returning legend Anna van der Breggen are also big favourites.

Canada will be represented by Movistar’s Olivia Baril, along with EF Education–Oatly’s Magdeleine Vallieres, Simone Boilard (Uno-X Mobility), and Hugo Houle of Israel-Premier Tech.

The 213-km course features 70 km of gravel across 14 sectors. Sector 5 (11.9 km) and Sector 6 (8 km) are especially tough, with just 1 km of tarmac between them. The San Martino in Grania sector (9.5 km) features constant rolling terrain before ending on a winding climb. Monte Sante Marie, at 11.5 km, is the race’s toughest stretch.

The final 900 m in Siena are on cobbles, with a steep 10 per cent gradient that maxes out at 16 per cent on Via Santa Caterina. The women’s race covers 136 km with 13 gravel sectors, including a punishing back-to-back stretch at San Martino.

To catch all the action for Strade Bianche on Saturday, you can watch it on FloBikes.com.