30% LESS Gravel?! Who Will Win Strade Bianche 2026? | The Big GCN Preview Show

You forgot Tibor del Grosso, future champ and maybe his breakthrough race!

This is what's going to happen. "Man, stop, look what I'm plannin'"

Shady Bianche

To kick things off, IDT performs a "fake Pogačar" imitation, launching an all-out attack on Monte Sante Marie, designed to create a gap. Seixas takes the bait and chases him furiously. For a moment, everyone, that's commentators and cameras included, forgets about Pogačar. Then, just as IDT lets Seixas catch him right before Colle Pinzuto, Pogačar launches a relentless attack on the decoy chasers, leaving them lifeless in the literal dust of his own namesake sector, just for laughs. "Alone in his own zone* and he don't care"

Yes, of course he could've just done it in his usual way (for the third time), but this sort of playful prank/psychological punch in the carb-loaded guts of his rivals is just what's on Shady Pogi's mind for his spring return, having shaken off last year's race exhaustion. "So I have been sent here to destroy you"

Plus, psychologically, this perfidious plan puts Pogi's opps in a poisonous predicament. It's like "Fill 'em with the venom and eliminate 'em" – what the hell will you do in upcoming races?

Will you chase the UAE lieutenant and lose because you're spent when the Watt God puts the hammer down? Or should you just let the lieutenant go and lose to Mini-Pog because you didn't even try to win yourself ?! It's basically
"Get ditched or die trying" — either way you're toast.

(And of course you might even still get pushed off the podium from behind.)

"Shook Ones" *2

I would love to see Niewiadoma and Alaphilippe win, but that would probably require Pog to have something go very wrong (mechanical, crash/injury) – and honestly I would be very happy to see a group all tackling the climb to the end rather than Pog just taking off and no one being able to catch him 40kms before the finish … Was it WVA and IDT who raced up a few years ago?

Observation. If someone is to be the Goat they need to differentiate themselves from other “Great riders”. They do stuff no one else can do. But greatness over time normally exposes traits that are more focussed on their character. The Ali’s, Jordan’s, Pele’s also need to take on and beat “All comers” over a period of time”. This is over a period time means from a competitors point of view they over stay their welcome. They cross generations. They shatter others dreams. They keep winning when the natural course suggests In doing so we the fans get to see things that we don’t really otherwise see. Fabian Cancellara was a great rider and like Van Der Poel a “Generational talent”. He has three Strade Bianche wins and rightly had the first sector named after him. The questions for this weekend and over the next four years till the contract ends is: do you share with Fabian and “let” Del Torro win?

If you knew that during your Neo Pro year you were more explosive and better than Paul Seixas and won a Tour de France a year later do you look to psychologically strike a blow now? If that is “BORING” its just because the media, fans and interested onlookers are getting an education in what greatness actually is…. Remco may never win le tour. This is because greatness doesn’t fit neatly into a box. It grates people as it extends their patience in the hope of exhilarating racing.

The legacy will be as he drops a bit over time and others come up will and how he find ways to beat them. Then we’ll see behind the happy go lucky exterior a non compromising desire to better others. Greatness. It’s not as easy to like once the initial awe wears off as a meme or short would have us believe!

So excited! And, guys, the pronunciation has improved. One more year and we'll be there! "STRA-deh Bi-AN-keh" – If you're interested: Strada=road (feminine), Strade=roads, Bianca=white (feminine), Bianche=white (plural) – swap the word order around and hey presto! (Note: Bianchi is a bike brand)

If anyone is in Tuscany, give us a message! 🚵‍♀️🌳🫒🇮🇹 #vistacyclingtuscany

Remember the stage of last year's Giro in which they did some of the gravel sectors and ended in Sienna! Del Toro and Van Aert have raced this roads more recently than the others

Already ruined it… there was never ever any real gravel, and now theres not only a lot less, but tons more climbing so now different type of racers dont even know up! Total loss all around…

Definitely pulling for Quinn Simmons!!! Will be interesting to see how last year's form carries over. His Strava numbers are wild, I love that he shares everything.

Poggy 🥱