Strade Bianche 2026, March 7, one-day race

[canina82]

Perfect if you want a climber to win… you wouldn’t see WVA or MVDP win if Pogacar wasn’t riding it

They wouldn't also in the old route against current Pogacar. That's my point.
BTW I'm pretty sure MVP can win without Pogacar in the race. 2024 WC was harder and MVP was probably the strongest behind Pogacar.

 

[Berniece]

They wouldn't also in the old route against current Pogacar. That's my point.
BTW I'm pretty sure MVP can win without Pogacar in the race. 2024 WC was harder and MVP was probably the strongest behind Pogacar.

MVDP trained specifically for that WC, and lost a lot of weight.

 

[AmRacer]

MVDP trained specifically for that WC, and lost a lot of weight.

Shocking

 

[KoopaCycling]

Strade Bianchi, a race I used to look forward to. Now i'm only interested to see how Del Toro & Seixas will fare (against each other). I'm not that interested in the Pogacar show. At least in the Ardennes you get a feeling there is a small chance.

In Strade Bianchi all that needs to happen is for Pogacar to not crash. If i watch it will be on the background whilst mostly doing something else.

 

[Wyndbrook]

Strade Bianchi, a race I used to look forward to. Now i'm only interested to see how Del Toro & Seixas will fare (against each other). I'm not that interested in the Pogacar show. At least in the Ardennes you get a feeling there is a small chance.

In Strade Bianchi all that needs to happen is for Pogacar to not crash. If i watch it will be on the background whilst mostly doing something else.

Womens race as well to enjoy.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

In Strade Bianchi all that needs to happen is for Pogacar to not crash. If i watch it will be on the background whilst mostly doing something else.

That didn't stop him last year, but it did add a little bit of suspense for a while.

 

[SafeBet]

They wouldn't also in the old route against current Pogacar. That's my point.
BTW I'm pretty sure MVP can win without Pogacar in the race. 2024 WC was harder and MVP was probably the strongest behind Pogacar.

https://twitter.com/x/status/2029136482812743945

View: https://x.com/directvelo/status/2029136482812743945?s=20

 

[Devil's Elbow]

MSR is very exciting due to Pogacar

False. Up until 2016 the race kind of sucked, but every edition from 2017 onwards was already very dynamic, and in fact Pogacar's first four attempts were all in the same vein as the editions in that period he didn't take part in.

That being said, Pogacar is arguably needed right now to give Alpecin a challenge.

 

[Berniece]

False. Up until 2016 the race kind of sucked, but every edition from 2017 onwards was already very dynamic, and in fact Pogacar's first four attempts were all in the same vein as the editions in that period he didn't take part in.

That being said, Pogacar is arguably needed right now to give Alpecin a challenge.

I'm not sure we would've seen Alpecin winning 3 times in a row without Pogacar.

 

[Cycling111]

I'm not sure we would've seen Alpecin winning 3 times in a row without Pogacar.

I think so, look at their dominance in Roubaix.Without Pogacar last year they would have finished 1-2 again in Roubaix.

 

[Cycling111]

False. Up until 2016 the race kind of sucked, but every edition from 2017 onwards was already very dynamic, and in fact Pogacar's first four attempts were all in the same vein as the editions in that period he didn't take part in.

That being said, Pogacar is arguably needed right now to give Alpecin a challenge.

Sure? I remember something different. I remember for years people complaining that Milano-San Remo was so boring that even they said the race needed La Manie because it was an incredibly easy and boring race.

Perspectives change a lot, like with the Tour de France; Sky's Tour de France seemed boring then. Those tours have more fans now than before...

I've been hearing for years that Milan-San Remo was the most boring race of the year. It was a race with zero expectation; it was only talked about during race week.

There is no denying that there is now much more anticipation to see how Pogacar can win than before, when it was possibly the most criticized race of the year.

 

[Berniece]

I think so, look at their dominance in Roubaix.Without Pogacar last year they would have finished 1-2 again in Roubaix.

That’s a completely different race where their two riders are always top 5 contenders. That’s not the case in MSR. First of all, Alpecin doesn’t have the team to launch MVDP like UAE launches Pogacar, not for Cipressa and not for Poggio. So I doubt MVDP is able to attack like Pogacar does, and I don’t think he could drop everyone. So if MVDP goes to the finish line it might be with a smaller group.

If that group gets taken by the next group which contains Philipsen, there are also other sprinters there.

Basically what I’m saying is that UAE makes the race so hard, that plays into the cards of Alpecin. If they didn’t make the race that hard there would be more contenders to take the win.

 

[Cycling111]

That’s a completely different race where their two riders are always top 5 contenders. That’s not the case in MSR. First of all, Alpecin doesn’t have the team to launch MVDP like UAE launches Pogacar, not for Cipressa and not for Poggio. So I doubt MVDP is able to attack like Pogacar does, and I don’t think he could drop everyone. So if MVDP goes to the finish line it might be with a smaller group.

If that group gets taken by the next group which contains Philipsen, there are also other sprinters there.

Basically what I’m saying is that UAE makes the race so hard, that plays into the cards of Alpecin. If they didn’t make the race that hard there would be more contenders to take the win.

Yes, it's a different race, but Alpecin has the two top favorites for two different races. VDP is the favorite on a tougher race, and Phlipsen gets over the Poggio better than other sprinters like Milan or Merlier.

 

[AlfaLum]

I expect an easy win from Pogacar again. Del Toro, Pidcock and Seixas to fight for the other three podium spots seems most likely, allthough Seixas is an unknown quantity in this type of races.

Also expect Albert Withen Philipsen to fully get back on everybody's radar with a very good performance.