'He just wants to smash everyone' – why Strade Bianche is unmissable this weekend, starting with the Paul Seixas-Tadej Pogačar duel

It's Paris-Roubaix with hard, hard hills; a Grand Tour gravel epic on steroids; it's an Ardennes Classic with off-road elements. It's Strade Bianche, and once again it looks set to be a thriller.

It's a race with so many tasty ingredients that many feel it ought to join the list of Monuments that sit at the top of the one-day racing tree.

Both men's and women's races run on the same day, Saturday 7 March, and will feature some of cycling's biggest names. This year's races feature a slightly shorter course and, in the case of the men's event, significantly less gravel with the hope of producing a more competitive event – Tadej Pogačar has one the last two editions with long solo attacks.

Here are a few things we're really looking forward to this weekend, at what will be the second big European Classic of the season. We are salivating at the prospect already.

King vs Pretender: Paul Seixas takes on Tadej Pogačar

The ruler must now face the young pretender. Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) will go into the race as favourite, but as many eyes will surely be on French upstart Paul Seixas (Decathlon CMA CRG), who has been making waves already this season with a series of impressive wins that bely his 19 years.

Neither rider's recent results on paper tell the whole story, for Slovenia's Pogačar has yet to turn a pedal in anger this year and we have little concrete indication of his form. In the case of Seixas – he only took his first pro victory a fortnight ago, and that was at .Pro level – a WorldTour race like Strade Bianche is a step up.

In reality though, we can all be forgiven for presuming when it comes to Tadej Pogačar. The past two seasons have seen him imperious and almost unbeatable in races like this, not to mention he won Strade Bianche in both of those years. As for Seixas, it is his young age and the panache with which he has taken his two wins this season – in particular the one-day Faun Ardèche, where he won solo from long range with a 1:48 gap – that demand we take notice.

Speaking on this week's Watts Occurring podcast with Geraint Thomas, Seixas's DS at Decathlon CMA CGM Luke Rowe had this to say about him:

"He's legit. In the meeting before the race, that's what he said he was going to do. And if you look at the guys he rode off his wheel, if you look at the top 10… they're legit guys. This guy [Seixas] is special… 'F*** me, he's special. He's super professional, lovely bloke – just down to earth. He's still a kid, he's just a jolly kid riding his bike. He doesn't think about the consequences, he just goes and races. He just wants to win everything, smash everyone… he's a special guy."

With a near-190km distance and 11 classified climbs, the Faun Ardèche was not so different to Strade Bianche, minus the strength-sapping white roads, of course. The chances of him riding away from the entire field at Tuscany are slim, but it will be fascinating to watch him go toe to toe with the very best, and on the biggest of stages.

Will Demi Vollering and Lotte Kopecky extend their streak?

The past four editions of the women's race – the Strade Bianche Donne – have seen the spoils shared between Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) and Demi Vollering (FDJ United-Suez). These are arguable the two best riders in the women's peloton and Strade Bianche offers up the perfect platform where either of these riders, with their own particular abilities, can win. Since Kopecky's first win in 2022, they've taken it in turns, with Vollering the current defending champion.

Both women return again, with Dutchwoman Vollering looking in great form following a run of great results at the Setmana Valenciana – where she took two stages and the overall win; and Omloop Nieuwsblad – which she won. Kopecky, on the other hand, suffered a mechanical at Omloop, which is her one race so far this season, and was unable to capitalise on what she said were good feelings.

Vollering and Kopecky are unlikely to have things all their own way of course – see below for some of the other riders who have the ability to challenge for the win at Strade Bianche Donne.

Shorter, smoother, more open, but still brutal

The organiser of Strade Bianche, RCS, has shortened the course for both men and women, and taken gravel sectors out, with the aim of making the race more open. For the men, the distance is reduced from from 215 to 205km, and, in the men's race, removed two-and-a-half sectors of sterrati, bringing the amount of gravel in the event down by 18km. There is less removed in the women's race on both counts, with the distance reduced by just three kilometres to 133km. Two sectors of sterrati have also been removed in the early stages, making for a 16km reduction.

It feels like this was done with half an eye on Pogačar more than anything else, perhaps to rein in those long-range attacks that have become his trademark and can have the effect of nullifying a race after little more than the halfway mark, in extreme cases. However, the changes have been made in the first half, with the tough and hilly finale left in.

Challengers to the throne

Strade Bianche is about far more than just Tadej Pogacar and Paul Seixas, or Demi Vollering and Lotte Kopecky. In the men's event, Tom Pidcock (Pinarello-Q36.5) will be taking the start. The Brit won the race in 2023 and has been among the best of the rest behind Pogačar in the two races since – last year, in fact, he was second. Pidcock loves this race and will be lining up with nothing on his mind but winning.

The provisional startlist also features Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost), he of the impressive breakaways at last year's Tour de France; Quinn Simmons (Lidl-Trek), who pushed Pogacar hard in another hilly Classic – Il Lombardia – last year; and Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike), who will be looking forward to turning the tables on a run of recent bad luck.

In the women's race, Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto) heads up the challenge from riders whose surname is not Vollering or Kopecky. She has come second here three times (the last time being 2018) but the 2024 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift winner is still more than capable of winning the race. A recent second at Omloop suggests she's in great form.

Elsewhere Pauline Ferrand-Prevot (Visma-Lease a Bike) will make her season debut here. Her third place here last year – not to mention the fact she is the reigning Tour de France Femmes champ – suggests she is well capable of winning on the right day. Finally, Shirin van Anrooij will head up the Lidl-Trek squad. The young Dutch rider is yet to amass many wins but has a previous fifth place here (2024).