Dramatic racing paired with dramatic images is the hallmark of the Italian race, won by Demi Vollering and Tom Pidcock
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Tom Pidcock dazed after his solo victory(Image credit: Zac Williams/SWpix.com)
Third-place Tisej Benoot (Jumbo Visma) after the race finish(Image credit: Zac Williams/SWpix.com)
The early breakaway of Alessandro De Marchi (Jayco Alula) Ivan Romero (Team Movistar) Sven Erik Bystrom (Intermarche Circus Wanty.)(Image credit: Zac Williams/SWpix.com)
The peloton during the 2023 Strade Bianche.(Image credit: Zac Williams/SWpix.com)
Kirsten Faulkner on the attack at the Strade Bianche women's race 2023(Image credit: Getty Images)
An early gravel sector of the Strade Bianche men 2023(Image credit: LaPresse)
A horse was loose on the course for a brief period at the Strade Bianche women's race 2023 - but thankfully Demi Vollering and the horse were unharmed(Image credit: Getty Images)
Kirsten Faulkner's long solo attack(Image credit: LaPresse)
Stunning scenes from the Tuscan landscape(Image credit: Zac Williams/SWpix.com)
A long gravel sector early in the Strade Bianche men 2023(Image credit: LaPresse)
A gravel sector in the Strade Bianche men 2023(Image credit: LaPresse)
Tom Pidcock's solo attack, bridging to the lead group just outside the final 40km(Image credit: LaPresse)
Pidcock out solo at Strade Bianche men 2023(Image credit: LaPresse)
Tom Pidcock's historic finish of Strade Bianche 2023(Image credit: LaPresse)
The Strade bianche men's podium(Image credit: LaPresse)
Tom Pidcock riding though a wall of fans on one of the white gravel sectors of the race's final kilometres(Image credit: LaPresse)
Tom Pidcock on the Via Santa Catarina climb on his way to winning Strade Bianche(Image credit: Alex Whitehead/ SWpix.com)
Tom Pidcock briefly after dropping the breakaway group(Image credit: Zac Williams/SWpix.com)
Alessandro De Marchi (Jayco Alula) chasing Tom Pidcock toward the race's finale(Image credit: Zac Williams/SWpix.com)
AG2R Citroen's infamous denim racing shorts(Image credit: Zac Williams/SWpix.com)
The early breakaway group in the women's race(Image credit: Getty Images)
Tom Pidcock attacking from the embers of the day's arly breakaway(Image credit: Zac Williams/SWpix.com)
Tom Pidcock out alone at Strade Bianche 2023(Image credit: Zac Williams/SWpix.com)
The main peloton at the Strade Bianche men's race(Image credit: Zac Williams/SWpix.com)
Celebrations on the podium of the men's Strade Bianche men's race(Image credit: Zac Williams/SWpix.com)
Mathieu van der Poel on a turbulent day at Strade Bianche(Image credit: Zac Williams/SWpix.com)
The women's peloton, led by EF Education-TIBCO-SVB, in the Strade Bianche women's race(Image credit: Getty Images)
Strade Bianche is a race that always pairs dramatic racing with images to match, turning on scenery ranging from the green hills of Tuscany with dust from the white gravel roads billowing into the air through to the steep crowd-packed climb on the terrace-lined street that leads riders to the distinctive finish line in the Piazzo del Campo.
The race may be one of the newest among the races that are given the title of Classics, with the men’s edition starting in 2007 and the women’s race being added in 2015, but it always remains one of the most photogenic.
2023 was no exception, as while there may have been grey skies and rain in the lead up the sun shone on Saturday, leading to blue skies, and hard-packed roads, although dry enough to still throw up plumes of white dust.
Tom Pidcock briefly after dropping the breakaway group (Image credit: Zac Williams/SWpix.com)
What it did mean, however, was that the men’s edition was the fastest in race history, with Tom Pidcock crossing the line solo to take victory in the race with an average speed of 40.636 kilometres per hour.
The British Ineos Grenadiers rider started his move with over 50km to go, soon riding away from his original companions Alberto Bettiol (EF Education-EasyPost) and Andrea Bagioli (Soudal-QuickStep) to join the riders from the early break. He then also left them behind, to take on the final 20km solo.
The gap at times shrunk to within ten seconds, but his efforts to hold the chasers at bay meant Pidcock became the first Briton to win the men’s edition of the Strade Bianche, joining Lizzie Deignan as a victor at the event after she won the women’s race in 2016.
Kristen Faulkner on the attack at Strade Bianche 2023 (Image credit: Getty Images)
In the women’s event this year, Kristen Faulkner (Jayco-AlUla) was holding out the front right until the final 600 metres, when SD Worx teammates Demi Vollering – who had earlier in the race had to contend with the unnerving presence of a horse on the course – and Lotte Kopecky made the junction.
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They rode the final stages of the race together to distance the rider from the United States, but when the line approached while it was clear that the Strade Bianche win would go to SD Worx, the confusion over what was next began.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Was it the defending champion Kopecky who would take the line first or Vollering? Even after they crossed that question wasn’t answered, with the jury having to review a tight photo finish between the teammates after the Belgian 2022 winner launched and then Vollering came back to terms with a surge to the line.
In the end, it was Vollering who took the Strade Bianche victory, taking the top step of the Italian race for the first time and giving SD Worx a three-year run of victories at the race, each delivered by a different rider.
To relive the races through the eyes of talented race photographers, click or swipe the gallery at the top of the page (and hit the full-screen icon in the bottom left of the image for the best experience).
Simone is a degree-qualified journalist that has accumulated decades of wide-ranging experience while working across a variety of leading media organisations. She joined Cyclingnews as a Production Editor at the start of the 2021 season and has now moved into the role of Australia Editor. Previously she worked as a freelance writer, Australian Editor at Ella CyclingTips and as a correspondent for Reuters and Bloomberg. Cycling was initially purely a leisure pursuit for Simone, who started out as a business journalist, but in 2015 her career focus also shifted to the sport.
