{"id":529267,"date":"2026-03-09T17:51:27","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T17:51:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/529267\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T17:51:27","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T17:51:27","slug":"the-best-photos-from-mens-strade-bianche-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/529267\/","title":{"rendered":"The best photos from men’s Strade Bianche 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Regarded as cycling\u2019s unofficial sixth Monument, this year\u2019s Strade Bianche saw another star-studded field of riders tackle the gravel tracks of Tuscany. Tadej Poga\u010dar used the race to make his 2026 debut, while Isaac del Toro, Wout van Aert, Tom Pidcock and Ben Healy were among the other top names to pay the sterrato a visit on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Like in 2022 and 2024, Tadej Poga\u010dar used the Monte Sante Marie to launch yet another race-winning move at 80km to go. Paul Seixas attempted to follow the Slovenian\u2019s wheel, but the 19-year-old would have to settle for second place after dropping Isaac del Toro on the steep Via Santa Caterina. Having picked up another victory on Italian soil, Poga\u010dar has become the first rider to win Strade Bianche on four occasions. As for Paul Seixas, he becomes the youngest rider to finish on the podium of the race.<\/p>\n

French photographer Xavier Pereryron was on the ground to witness present and future greatness. Here are some of his best photos from the men\u2019s race.<\/p>\n

\"\"Xavier Pereyron<\/p>\n

What were you doing at 19? I bet you weren\u2019t about to lead a Classics team.<\/p>\n

\"\"Xavier Pereyron<\/p>\n

That\u2019s one way to pass the time on the roadside.<\/p>\n

\"\"Xavier Pereyron<\/p>\n

64km of the route was on Tuscany\u2019s gravel roads.<\/p>\n

\"\"Xavier Pereyron<\/p>\n

UAE Team Emirates XRG controlled the bunch on behalf of Poga\u010dar and Del Toro during the early phase of the race.<\/p>\n

\"\"Xavier Pereyron<\/p>\n

Once upon a time, Poga\u010dar and Alaphilippe would have gone blow for blow on a course like this.<\/p>\n

\"\"Xavier Pereyron<\/p>\n

Aaron Dockx opted against superstition, keeping his 13 dossard the right way up.<\/p>\n

\"\"Xavier Pereyron<\/p>\n

In his final Strade Bianche, Bauke Mollema was the lanterne rouge come the finish.<\/p>\n

\"\"Xavier Pereyron<\/p>\n

All eyes on the World Champion’s wheel.<\/p>\n

\"\"Xavier Pereyron<\/p>\n

Paul Seixas had only competed in one Classic before this race.<\/p>\n

\"\"Xavier Pereyron<\/p>\n

The beautiful sight of the Tuscan hills coated with white dust.<\/p>\n

\"\"Xavier Pereyron<\/p>\n

To nobody’s surprise, Poga\u010dar launched his move with 80km remaining. He attacked from a similar distance in 2022 and 2024.<\/p>\n

\"\"Xavier Pereyron<\/p>\n

Tom Pidcock suffered some untimely mechanicals during the race. He’d ultimately finish in seventh place, his worst result in Strade Bianche.<\/p>\n

\"\"Xavier Pereyron<\/p>\n

Boos were picked up on the mic as Poga\u010dar cruised around the streets of Siena.<\/p>\n

\"\"Xavier Pereyron<\/p>\n

Poga\u010dar’s teammate Jan Christen finished in sixth place, meaning that half the top six was UAE riders.<\/p>\n

\"\"Xavier Pereyron<\/p>\n

Bravo, Paul Seixas. Second place on Strade debut.<\/p>\n

\"\"Xavier Pereyron<\/p>\n

Cl\u00e9ment Braz Afonso distances Pello Bilbao on the approach to the line. The Groupama rider rode to 17th place on the day.<\/p>\n

\"\"Xavier Pereyron<\/p>\n

This 26-man group was the largest pack of riders to cross the line.<\/p>\n

\"\"Xavier Pereyron<\/p>\n

Strade Bianche is always a brutal day out.<\/p>\n

\"\"Xavier Pereyron<\/p>\n

Brandon Rivera was one of the many riders sporting mud patches and dust after the finish.<\/p>\n

\"\"Xavier Pereyron<\/p>\n

First victory in bleached hair for the World Champion.<\/p>\n

\"\"Xavier Pereyron<\/p>\n

GOAT recognises GOAT.<\/p>\n

\"\"Xavier Pereyron<\/p>\n

The trophy is unnecessarily large. Where do you even keep one of those?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Regarded as cycling\u2019s unofficial sixth Monument, this year\u2019s Strade Bianche saw another star-studded field of riders tackle the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":529268,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[569],"tags":[64,63,784,176605,85,177851,6494],"class_list":["post-529267","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-cycling","tag-paul-seixas","tag-sports","tag-strade-bianche","tag-tadej-pogacar"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/529267","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=529267"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/529267\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/529268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=529267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=529267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=529267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}