Vos and Armitstead to ride Strade Bianche

Some of the biggest names in women’s cycling are set to battle it out at the inaugural women’s Strade Bianche race on March 7, with 16 teams confirmed for the event by organiser RCS Sport.

Five-time Road World Cup winner Marianne Vos (Rabo Liv), 2014 World Cup winner Lizzie Armitstead (Boels-Dolmans) and two-time World Champion Giorgia Bronzini (Wiggle-Honda) are all set to ride. Emma Johansson (Orica-AIS) and Elisa Longo Borghini (Wiggle-Honda), among others, will also compete in the race that starts shortly before the men’s event.

The hilly 103km race route includes 17km of strade bianche (dirt roads) spread across five sectors, the first and last being the same as the men’s race.

The 16 teams are Rabo Liv, Boels Dolmans, Wiggle-Honda, Velocio-SRAM, Orica-AIS, Bigla Pro Cycling, Lotto-Soudal Ladies, Ale-Cipollini, Inpa Sottoli Giusfredi, Astana-Acca Due O, BTC City Ljubljana, Servetto Footon, S.C. Michela Fanini Rox, BePink-La Classica, Aromitalia Vaiano and Top Girls Fassa Bortolo. Each team will have six riders.

Cyclingnews will have complete coverage of both the men's and women's races, with race reports, photo galleries, news and interviews.

Patrick Fletcher
Deputy Editor

Patrick is an NCTJ-accredited journalist with a bachelor’s degree in modern languages (French and Spanish) and a decade’s experience in digital sports media, largely within the world of cycling. He re-joined Cyclingnews as Deputy Editor in February 2026, having previously spent eight years on staff between 2015 and 2023. In between, he was Deputy Editor at GCN and spent 18 months working across the sports portfolio at Future before returning to the cycling press pack. Patrick works across Cyclingnews’ wide-ranging output, assisting the Editor in global content strategy, with a particular focus on shaping CN's news operation.