Bigger tyres, different treads, and some subtle swaps for the Tuscan hills
Tom Pidcock's Strade Bianche winning bike(Image credit: Stephen Farrand)
Sure, in the pantheon of bicycle racing, Strade Bianche is but a little baby, having only kicked off in 2007, but it's quickly become one of the season's must-watch events.
It more than holds its own, rubbing shoulders with the titans of the calendar like Paris-Roubaix, thanks to a heady mix of beautiful scenery, a parcours that could favour anyone from climbers to classicists, and those dusty dusty (or muddy, when it rains) white roads.
As per Opening Weekend in Belgium, the pros often opt for slightly different set-ups to what they'd run for a 'normal' road race, to account for the fact that a great portion of the race is run on gravel.
To see how the pros switch it up for the cobbles be sure to check out our Opening Weekend tech gallery, but first have a scroll through the gallery below featuring all the noteworthy tech that we spotted at Strade Bianche on Saturday.
Primarily, the mods focused on different tyres - some wider, some different treads, some a combination of both - but there were also some different cockpit setups, too.
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Will joined the Cyclingnews team as a reviews writer in 2022, having previously written for Cyclist, BikeRadar and Advntr. There are very few types of cycling he's not dabbled in, and he has a particular affection for older bikes and long lasting components. Road riding was his first love, before graduating to racing CX in Yorkshire. He's been touring on a vintage tandem all the way through to fixed gear gravel riding and MTB too. When he's not out riding one of his many bikes he can usually be found in the garage tinkering with another of them, or getting obsessive about tyres. Also, as he doesn't use Zwift, he's our go-to guy for bad weather testing... bless him.
Rides: Custom Zetland Audax, Bowman Palace:R, Peugeot Grand Tourisme Tandem, Falcon Explorer Tracklocross, Fairlight Secan & Strael