Cyclist6 talking points from Strade BiancheCyclings most picturesque race, Strade Bianche, took over Tuscany this weekend, with the men and women providing two completely different dynamics as they battled over the white gravel roads around Siena.From a wrong turn derailing the chances of the favourites to the inevitability of a certain world champion, we round up six of the biggest talking points from Saturdays racing as the Classics season kicks into life. Related Posts The best photos from men's Strade Bianche 2026 Spring Classics 2026: Our form guide How should teams aim to beat Tadej Pogaar in 2026? Its a great history were making: Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney profile Cycling Spring Classics 2026: Race dates, Monuments, cobbles and live TV guide Two FDJ United-Suez riders podium, but neither were VolleringFDJ United-SUEZFDJ United-Suez came away the happiest team after Strade Bianche. A monumental victory for Elise Chabbey only her sixth professional win was shortly followed by new signing Franzi Koch coming home in third to turn what couldve been a nightmare day into a dream after team leader Demi Vollering was caught in a group that was led off the route, ruling her out of contention.It was an incredible finish to the race, with an unusually large leading group coming to the final challenge of the Via Santa Caterina. Monica Trinca Colonel, Marianne Vos and Puck Pieterse lost contact early on the steep climb, leaving three national champions in Germanys Koch, Polands Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney and Italys Elisa Longo Borghini alongside Chabbey to fight it out.Niewiadoma-Phinney and Longo Borghini led over the top of the climb, but, on the twisting run to the Piazza del Campo, the pair along with Koch all took the same wide line, allowing Chabbey to swoop inside with just 300m to go and she never looked back.It will be tough to take for Niewiadoma-Phinney, who finished second for an agonising fourth time, but her strong form is an exciting prospect heading into Flanders and the Ardennes.Led astrayWrong way! A chasing group including Demi Vollering and Pauline Ferrand-Prvot went the wrong way as they were making gains on the leader! pic.twitter.com/PwFbI9h5V5 Cycling on TNT Sports (@cyclingontnt) March 7, 2026 In the last 33km of the race, many of the pre-race favourites were left wondering what couldve been after a motorbike led the group including Vollering, Pauline Ferrand-Prvot and Lotte Kopecky straight down the wrong gravel road.It took a few hundred metres for the group to realise their mistake. They had been around a minute in arrears to the leaders, but the move had obliterated any form of comeback by stretching that deficit to almost three minutes.Well never know how much influence that had on the final result, but its a shame for the chase to have ended that way.The elusive Classic for Kasia Niewiadoma-PhinneyCanyon-SRAM ZondacryptoIn her most recent interview with Cyclist, Niewiadoma-Phinney labelled Strade Bianche as a race she would like to win the most, saying, Its haunting me now, to be honest. The more I want it, the harder it is to get.This would prove true again in 2026 as she crossed the line in 2026 for her fourth second place at the race. She clearly goes well over this kind of terrain, and has proven that in wins like the Gravel World Championships in 2023 and La Flche Wallonne in 2024. If she had to replay the race again, you would imagine that corner in Siena would be taken differently.Tadej Pogaar is inevitableXavier PereyronIts something to experience, sure, but when you can predict the outcome of a race before its even started then it kind of takes away the excitement. Tadej Pogaar is so strong that other teams basically know theyre racing for second from kilometre zero, but its about time more risks are taken to take the race to the World Champion, especially given he can publicly state where hell attack and it still makes no difference.After lighting up the race early for Pogaar to attack with 80km to go, UAE Team Emirates XRG managed to end the day with three riders in the top six, with Isaac del Toro finishing in third and Jan Christen in sixth. Talk about depth. Fortunately next on the agenda is Milan-San Remo, one of the few races Pogaar is yet to win.Paul Seixas is on fire, should UAE be terrified?Xavier PereyronSaturday was not only Paul Seixass Strade Bianche debut, it was his first ever Spring Classic altogether, with the only Classic in his legs so far last years Il Lombardia. Seixas had a highly impressive debut pro season in 2025 with strong performances at the Tour of the Alps, Critrium du Dauphin, Il Lombardia and the European Championships, however he has taken an enormous leap in year two.The 19-year-old started the season strong with second overall and a stage win at the Volta ao Algarve before a Pogaar-like solo win at Faun-Ardche Classic. In Strade Bianche, he was briefly the only rider to be able to follow Pogaar on Monte Sante Marie before falling back, but still powered his way to second, dropping his passenger Del Toro on Via Santa Caterina.Will Seixas win a Classic this year?Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.Emotional Tom Pidcock rues mechanicalXavier PereyronWhilst Pogaar was riding away on Monte Sante Marie, Pinarello-Q36.5s Tom Pidcock was falling behind. A chain slip for the 2023 winner and Pogaars closest contender last year followed by another shortly after put paid to any of his chances of repeating his challenge of 2025.He looked visibly emotional when speaking to TNT Sports after the finish, saying, I think you can feel a bit of sombreness here With UAE like that, theres not much you can do. My chain fell off twice on Sante Marie, that really killed my momentum, but I wouldnt have beaten Tadej anyway.Rider to watch: Franziska KochFDJ United-SUEZAside from the winners, FDJ United-Suezs Franziska Koch was our rider of the day. The German National Champion has been very strong so far this season, with a fifth place at Omloop Nieuwsblad and third at Strade Bianche making this her best Classics campaign so far and its only two races in. Having made the switch from Picnic-PostNL over the winter, Koch is proving quite the signing in an already-stacked FDJ United-Suez squad. And the team tactics have been spot on so far, with Demi Vollering doing what she does best at Omloop, but Koch and Chabbey proving at Strade Bianche that they have a whole deck of cards to play if dont go to plan.For more on the Classics, visit our hub page.The post 6 talking points from Strade Bianche appeared first on Cyclist.