Mathieu Van der Poel's teammate regrets Strade Bianche course change: "It used to be one of my favorite races"

Let’s go back four years. Egan Bernal, Tadej Pogacar, Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert, Tom Pidcock, Julian Alaphilippe, and Michael Gogl were all battling for victory in 2021. Just seven seconds behind them was Gianni Vermeersch. That year marked the peak of Strade Bianche’s popularity, with the decisive moves happening in the final 50 kilometers in a race full of constant attacks. It was a race where the best classics riders and grand tour contenders went head-to-head—that was Strade Bianche, and that was what made it so popular.

"Purely as a race, Strade Bianche is one of my favorites, but last year the organizers made it longer," says Gianni Vermeersch. "Now the race is 30 or 40 kilometers longer, mostly with climbs. That makes it more of a climbers’ race. It used to be a 50-50 split between climbers and classics riders. You would see riders like Cancellara, Stybar, Mathieu, and Wout—the more classics-oriented guys—at the front. But where I could still play a meaningful role before last year, it has now become really difficult for a classics rider to compete for a top result. The entire top ten now leans more toward climbers. That’s a bit of a shame because this was one of my favorite races, where I had hoped to one day achieve a great result."

The organizers added an extra loop at the end of the course, featuring two additional steep gravel climbs. "Le Tolfe and Colle delle Pinzuto are two very tough sectors. We now do them twice now, and in between, the course is still undulating. That means you have to climb almost 400 extra vertical meters within just 30 kilometers. That makes a huge difference in this race. On top of that, Monte Sante Marie now comes much earlier—80 kilometers from the finish. Pogacar already blew the race open there, which in my view has completely changed the nature of the race."

With these major course changes, the organizers might be shooting themselves in the foot. "The charm of Strade Bianche was that the best grand tour riders and the best classics riders competed together for victory. I understand that they want to make the race longer, but I would have preferred if they added a 30-40 kilometer loop earlier in the race. The final 50 kilometers of Strade Bianche were so beautiful and exciting."

Vermeersch will still be on the start line this Saturday, but with less ambition than before—and without his team leader Mathieu van der Poel. "Strade Bianche used to be a race where I had ambitions to compete for a podium," says Vermeersch. "But with the course changes, that ambition has shifted. I think it has become very difficult for a classics rider to get a top result here."

His best edition of Strade Bianche was in 2021, when he was in a group just seven seconds behind the leaders in the final. Unfortunately, he crashed. "We had just come off a sector, and I was the first to go down, and Simmons crashed over me. On the next sector, three riders attacked and went on to finish in the top ten. Looking back, I felt it was a missed opportunity because I still managed to finish fourteenth. In your career, there are always moments where you have bad luck or get caught in a crash—this was one of those moments."

There’s long been talk about the advantage cyclo-cross riders have at Strade Bianche due to their handling skills. Former winners like Van Aert, Van der Poel, Zdenek Stybar, Alaphilippe, and Pidcock all came from cyclo-cross. So does having a background in cyclo-cross help? "Cross teaches you a certain technique and riding style that helps you position yourself very efficiently," explains Vermeersch. "Cyclo-cross is all about passing someone at the right moment—overtaking just before a turn, for example. That’s a crucial skill there, and I think that’s something that always stays with a cyclo-cross rider. It has often been an advantage for me. The fight to get to a sector is often brutal, and if you dare to brake a little later, that’s definitely an edge," Vermeersch concludes.

Gianni Vermeersch
Gal Glivar
Sam Gaze
Quinten Hermans
Xandro Meurisse
Johan Price-Pejtersen
Emiel Verstrynge