In a bizarre scene at Strade Bianche many of the pre-race favourites saw their victory hopes evaporate when a chasing group took a wrong turn and rode several hundred metres off the course down a gravel track.<\/p>\n
The Tuscan one-day race is favourite for its white roads and gravel sectors, but this was one dusty track not on the route, Pauline Ferrand-Pr\u00e9vot, Lotte Kopecky and Demi Vollering among the chasing group which flew down the turn before abruptly turning around.<\/p>\n
The incident appeared to be caused by a race motorbike going the wrong way down the track, instead of following the road around to the left, the riders following the motorbike and not realising the error until a long way down the farm track.<\/p>\n
Wrong way! \ud83d\ude2e<\/p>\n
A chasing group including Demi Vollering and Pauline Ferrand-Pr\u00e9vot went the wrong way as they were making gains on the leader! \ud83d\ude2c pic.twitter.com\/PwFbI9h5V5<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) March 7, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n To make matters worse, the path back to the road was up a fairly steep climb meaning, by the time they were back on the course, the deficit to the race leaders had stretched from a little over a minute to close to three minutes, all but ending the group\u2019s chances of regaining contact.<\/p>\n It was further misfortune for Vollering and Ferrand-Pr\u00e9vot who found themselves back in the chase group after mechanicals on an earlier gravel sector.<\/p>\n Perhaps the lead group would have stayed away anyway, but the chaotic route error all but ended any chance of victory for the riders involved.<\/p>\n It was an unfortunate incident in an otherwise thrilling edition of Strade Bianche, Elise Chabbey holding off Kasia Niewiadoma, Franziska Koch and Elisa Longo Borghini in a four-way finish in Siena\u2019s Piazza del Campo.<\/p>\n INCREDIBLE! \ud83d\udd25<\/p>\n Elise Chabbey wins the 2026 edition of Strade Bianche! \ud83d\udc4f pic.twitter.com\/APTUQNhhE7<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) March 7, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n World champion Magdeleine Vallieres and Puck Pieterse had already been dropped by Longo Borghini\u2019s acceleration on the iconic double-digit climb that concludes the race.<\/p>\n The Italian took the right turn atop the climb in first place, a feat which normally sees the rider claim victory due to the narrow and twisty final few hundred metres followed by the downhill drop to the line. However, Niewiadoma squeezed through on the next bend, only for Chabbey to come round from third to first and take the win.<\/p>\n At the finish, despite the navigation nightmare, Vollering was delighted for teammate Chabbey.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m so proud of them,\u201d she told the TNT Sports cameras. Explaining the wrong turn, Vollering continued: \u201cThey sent us the wrong way. All the riders [knew] we\u2019d never come back. A pity for me but I was so excited hearing on the radio the battle. They did amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n Ferrand-Pr\u00e9vot had little recollection of the incident, saying she was just following the wheels in front and did not realise what had happened until it was too late.<\/p>\n \u201cApparently they took the wrong road,\u201d she said with a smile. \u201cNothing more I can say [\u2026] I still don\u2019t really know, I\u2019m looking forward to getting back on the bus to hear what happened.\u201d<\/p>\n New season, same old story<\/p>\n If the women\u2019s race was a thriller, the men\u2019s edition, like so many bike races in recent years, can only be described as a procession.<\/p>\n Tadej Poga\u010dar wins Strade Bianche for the fourth time after attacking with more than 78km to go and holding his advantage all the way to the Piazza del Campo \ud83e\udd29 pic.twitter.com\/SMvJUxx4KO<\/a><\/p>\n