Tadej Pogacar wins his third Strade Bianche after recovering from a strong crash

The legend of Tadej Pogacar threatens to trample many of the theories that have been applied throughout history, including that of the supposed curse of the rainbow jersey. The absolute dominator of the professional cycling peloton signed a new exhibition in Italy to score his third victory in Strade Bianche, surpassing a top-level rival like Tom Pidcock and, above all, a tough fall more than 50 km from the finish line after entering a curve at high speed. Tim Wellens -3rd after working for his leader- rounded off the magnificent Saturday for the UAE Emirates team.

Nothing and no one could beat Tadej Pogacar in Strade Bianche

The traditional breakaway of the majority of classics was formed by ten riders from as many teams: Johan Price Pejtersen (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Stan Dewulf (Decathlon AG2R), Lewis Askey (Groupama-FDJ), Connor Swift (Ineos Grenadiers), Simone Petilli (Intermarché-Wanty), Albert Withen Philipsen (Lidl-Trek), Mark Donovan (Q36.5), Pepijn Reinderink (Soudal Quick-Step), Anders Foldager (Jayco AlUla) and Fabian Weiss (Tudor). Although their lead exceeded 5 minutes, UAE Emirates made sure that the chances of victory were never real, to the point that with more than two hours of racing remaining, only 32 men made up a group of favorites firmly led by the rainbow jersey teammates.

With the breakaway already fractured and Pogacar's group just a minute and a half behind the leaders, crossing the long and decisive Santa María section, the point more than 80 km from the finish line where the Slovenian sealed Strade Bianche last year, UAE Emirates increased the pace with Mexican Isaac del Toro and Belgian Tim Wellens. It seemed like a warning for Pogacar's inevitable attack. However, one of the few who dared from the start to challenge the winner's name, British Tom Pidcock (Q36.5), was able to resist that move and reach the exit of the section alongside Pogacar, where they would catch up with fellow Briton Connor Swift, who maintained a slight lead as the only remaining rider from the breakaway.

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Bruised but not defeated

The gap between the trio and a chasing group with Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious), Roger Adrià (Red Bull-Bora), Lennert van Eeetvelt (Lotto), Ben Healy and Michael Valgren (EF Education-EasyPost), Tim Wellens (UAE Emirates), Magnus Cort (UnoX-Mobility) and Gianni Vermeersch (Alpecin-Deceuninck) quickly exceeded a minute and a world over the rest of the riders still battling to finish the race in Siena. Everything was in front, between Pogacar and Pidcock, with Swift as an exceptional guest as far as his legs would take him.

The tough fall that Pogacar suffered.#StradeBianche pic.twitter.com/v7oiquDWce

— Eurosport.es (@Eurosport_ES) March 8, 2025

However, on a fast descent, in a left turn, Pogacar, who was leading that trio at the time, lost control of his bike, crashing violently to the ground and being thrown off the road. Bruised, with visible wounds on his shoulder, elbow, and legs, the Slovenian resumed the race more than half a minute behind Pidcock, who did not slow down. Fired up, the initially pristine white jersey, now stained by that fall, overcame that setback by catching up with the brave British rider in the blink of an eye, who wanted to challenge Pogacar and compete for his second victory in Piazza del Campo.

Pogacar sealed the deal at Colle Pinzuto

With Swift eliminated, both continued to work well together to maintain the lead over a chasing group where attacks were ongoing. Aware of his theoretical inferiority, Pidcock did not refuse any relays, behaving like a true leader until the definitive second ascent to Colle Pinzuto where, among the crowd, Pogacar was able to break away solo in search of Fabian Cancellara's record of three victories.

With his uniform torn and a large bruise visible on his left shoulder, Pogacar celebrated his fourth victory of the year in Siena, finishing almost a minute and a half ahead of Pidcock and more than 2 minutes ahead of his teammate Tim Wellens, who rounded off the fantastic day for the UAE Emirates team that once again dominated the Strade Bianche. Pello Bilbao (5th) and Roger Adrià (10th) were the best Spaniards in Tuscany.

Strade Bianche 2025 Classification

1st Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) 5h13'58"
2nd Thomas Pidcock (Q36.5) at 1'24"
3rd Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates) at 2'12"
4th Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) at 3'23"
5th Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) at 4'20"
6th Magnus Cort (UnoX-Mobility) at 4'26"
7th Gianni Vermeersch (Alpecin-Deceuninck) at 4'29"
8th Michael Valgren (EF Education-EasyPost) at 4'37"
9th Lennert van Eetvelt (Lotto) at 4'47"
10th Roger Adrià (RedBull-Bora) at 5'06"

Demi Vollering outperformed Van der Breggen in Siena

In the women's category, Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez) also lived up to expectations to claim her second victory in Siena. However, after an anticipated and thrilling duel against her former team director, Anna Van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime), who has shown to be back in top form after three years away from competition.

The two Dutch riders arrived with a sufficient lead to the final climb before Piazza del Campo, where Vollering, with more spark, easily dropped a cyclist who, at almost 35 years old, returned to a high-level podium completed by Frenchwoman Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma | Lease a Bike), another rider returning to the road after four seasons focused on MTB. Mavi García (Liv AlUla Jayco) -fifth- had a very good race, trying in a dangerous breakaway that was caught in the final dirt sectors.

Strade Bianche 2025 Classification

1st Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez) 3h49'04"
2nd Anna Van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime) at 18"
3rd Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma | Lease a Bike) at 1'42"
4th Juliette Labous (FDJ-Suez) at 1'42"
5th Mavi García (Liv AlUla Jayco) at 1'47"
6th Yara Kastelijn (Fenix-Deceuninck) at 1'48"
7th Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck) at 1'49"
8th Niamh Fisher-Black (Lidl-Trek) at 1'54"
9th Noemi Rüegg (EF Education-Oatly) at 1'55"
10th Silke Smulders (Liv AlUla Jayco) at 1'59"