Women's Classics Preview I: The Italian Block

The sun is shining, the flowers are budding, and spring has finally arrived after the many, many months of January and February. And when it comes to cycling, this can mean only one thing: THE CLASSICS ARE HERE!

As the women’s calendar continues to expand, and with particular pinch-points throughout the year, there are times when teams struggle to cover all the racing, but on the whole, and particularly at World Tour Level, there is a certain sense of streamlining beginning to take shape, meaning that with the exception of opening weekend (which is rather stuck out on a limb) – teasing the cobbled classics before we leave the low countries for a while – the racing falls into three distinct blocks: Italy, Flanders, and the Ardennes.

With a great deal of movement during the transfer window this past off-season, leading to new configurations of riders and a far more level playing field in terms of the distribution of resources, the whole of this season looks set to be fascinating. Women’s cycling has always been aggressive and often unpredictable, and from the hints we’ve had so far, anything could happen as the season begins to take shape.

Here is the first of three previews looking ahead to the upcoming spring Classics for the women’s peloton: the Italian Block.

Italy in the Spring is a thing of beauty. Blue skies, gravel roads, decisive climbs and this year, the addition of La Classicissima back into the women’s calendar, to complement the existing races and give added meaning and depth to the Italian portion of the spring season. Three races, three different prospects for a peloton hungry for battle. It’s going to be a thrilling ride. So let’s get into it.

Strade Bianche – Saturday 8 March

Key Battlegrounds

Of course, the playgrounds of Strade Bianche are the Tuscan gravel roads (the clue is in the name). It’s a race which always kicks off on the gravel, and for the women’s peloton, the race has followed a natural pattern of a winnowing process, with the final three gravel sectors the most significant.

Though the race distance has not changed since 2018, there are 11 gravel sectors now compared with 8 back then. Looking back over the past few years, it’s clear that long-range solos aren’t the way to win this race, for the women, with Annemiek van Vleuten the last rider to win with a solo greater than a kilometre. Even then, the inimitable Dutchwoman only launched her effort to win the 2019 race on Le Tolfe – the final gravel sector, arriving with 12.2km remaining in the race. The sector has been used as a launchpad for attacks every year, but the leg-snapping Via Santa Caterina has been the deciding factor in 4 of the past 5 years for the women, with the race-winning move launched on the steep rise up to the Piazza del Campo in almost every edition of the race (the fifth was decided on the finish line itself, when Vollering beat Kopecky in 2023).

The favourites

So who are the key riders who will face off for victory in Siena? With two-time winner and reigning World Champion Lotte Kopecky opting to sit out this year, the favourite for the race is undoubtedly 2023 winner and Kopecky’s former teammate Demi Vollering (FDJ SUEZ). Let's face it, she's the favourite for basically every race she enters, this year. 2017 victor and four-time podium finisher Elisa Longo Borghini, riding for her new team UAE Team ADQ, is another one to watch, and reigning Tour de France Femmes champion Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon//SRAM), who was broken-hearted to miss out on the win in 2024, and has stated it's one of her favourite races, will also hope to feature at the finish.

A final rider who absolutely falls under the umbrella of ‘race favourite’ these days is Puck Pieterse (Fenix-Deceuninck). Scoring two fourth-place finishes on Opening Weekend and matching Demi Vollering pedal stroke for pedal stroke on the decisive climbs of the day at Omloop, Pieterse thrives off-road as a gifted multi-disciplinarian, and proved her aptitude for this race finishing fifth in 2023 in what was her first ever road race. She is capable of freelancing her way to the front group, brave enough to attack at will, and if she can find a gap before the finish line to distance the faster finishers, she could well take the win.

Outsiders

Plenty of riders will be hoping to make their mark at Strade Bianche and casting an eye down the startlist, a few names leap out as ones to watch, outside of the main group of favourites. Kim Le Court (AG Insurance Soudal) is another rider who can handle a variety of surfaces and is never far away from the pointy end of proceedings. EF Education-Oatly bring a strong collective unit, and though Kristen Faulkner came close to victory last season courtesy of a long-range solo, it’s Cédrine Kerbaol who could be an agitator for the American team. Newly signed, the 2024 Tour stage winner can handle punchy terrain and has grit for days, and will want to impress in her first World Tour race for her new side.

Fenix-Deceuninck bring a stacked line-up which will take its chances and could spring a surprise even without Pieterse through the likes of Pauliena Rooijjakkers or Yara Kastelijn. Human Powered Health have made a stellar signing in Thalita de Jong – the Dutchwoman is in great form, with one win already under her belt this season, and she could stick with the best deep into the race on Saturday. And a long shot - look out for Julie Bego (Cofidis). the 20-year-old French woman is another confident 'crosser who had a strong season in 2024, and may be a break out star of the next couple of seasons.

FUN FACT! Demi Vollering’s younger sister, Bodine Vollering, will make her Strade Bianche debut, riding for VolkerWessels – it’s the first time the two sisters will have raced together at this level – watch out world, there are two Vollerings on the scene!

Trofeo Alfredo Binda – Sunday 16 March

While for the men's peloton it's Liège–Bastogne–Liège that's nicknamed La Doyenne ('the Old Lady'), the matriarch of women's classics is undoubtedly the Trofeo Alfredo Binda. Running since 1974, the Italian race enjoys its 49th edition in 2025, and holds a special place in the hearts of many of the women’s peloton, not to mention providing a thrilling spectacle for fans every year.

One of the most unpredictable races every year, the up and down parcours, which makes its way around the Comune di Cittiglio, is tough enough to be selective, but leads to a different kind of race every year - it's one to savour, so make sure you don't miss it.

Key battlegrounds

With barely a kilometre of flat all day, the ups and downs of the Binda parcours make for non-stop entertainment, and though the route features its biggest climb in the first half of the race, it's the five loops around Cittiglio which form the second half where decisions will be made. In particular, the two climbs, very different in nature, offering different rider profiles the opportunity to try and make an attack stick. The Casalzuigno, or 'Casale' is a punchy ramp, 800m in length and with an average pitch of 7%, while the Orino is much longer at 2.6km, with a slightly shallower gradient of 5% across its distance. With five repeated assaults on these climbs, legs will tire, as teams will look to take on the race in support of their designated leaders. Though they may hope to try to bring about whichever outcome suits their strongest rider, it's a race that's as reactive as it is proactive, and teams with strength in depth will benefit, able to respond to the developing race situation, however it unfolds.

On paper, the last four editions of the race identical to the men’s Milano-Sanremo results – two sprints, two solo victories. There a few notable things about these results – firstly, every edition for the past four years has been won by Lidl-Trek. Secondly, the circumstances leading to each of the finals were quite different. In 2021, Elisa Longo Borghini launched early, attacking on the penultimate ascent of the Orino and winning by a staggering margin of 1:42. In 2023, Shirin van Anrooij took advantage of the other teams looking at one another to launch at almost the same point - going over the top of the Orino with 24km remaining - but with multiple attacks going off behind her, she won by 23 seconds in the end. And Elisa Balsamo won in both 2022 and 2024 from a small group, her team doing extraordinary work to keep the former world champion in contention with the stronger climbers in the race.

So what does all these mean? In terms of outcomes – anything is possible. Of the three Italian races, this one is hardest to predict, in terms of the way it may play out, and as a result, anyone with the legs on the day and the guts to go for an attack could be in with a shot of winning. It seems unlikely that one team will be able to control the race for a sprint outcome, given what we’ve seen of the women’s racing so far this season. So I predict an all-out attack-fest, with the winner coming from a late attack a la Van Anrooij in 2023. I also predict that this will be the year that Lidl-Trek's winning streak at the race is broken.

The contenders

With all that in mind, while I’m not going to rule out any of the obvious favourites, I’m going to assume you know who I mean, and look at a few of the riders who might feature, should they end up on the start list. I’m once again throwing in Cédrine Kerbaol as a potential winner. She’s bold and willing to go from long-range. So too AG Insurance Soudal’s Justine Ghekiere, who showed her grit both at the Tour de France Femmes last summer, where she won a stage and the mountain’s jersey, and at the World Championships in Zurich where she turned herself inside-out for her leader Lotte Kopecky. Both of these riders have the staying power to go the distance in Cittiglio.

I haven’t yet mentioned Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig. Riding for a new team in 2025, the vivacious Dane may serve Kasia Niewiadoma at Strade Bianche, and it’s anybody’s guess who the team will ride for at Milano-Sanremo, but it seems that the team’s two leaders may divide leadership between them this year and this one could be ideal for Uttrup Ludwig, should she choose to target it. She hasn’t raced Binda since 2022, when she finished 9th, and she came 3rd on the previous two occasions, suggesting she could be primed for a run at improving her result, with her all-star teammate Niewiadoma in support.

We're still a couple of weeks out from Binda so it's tough to throw around a host of names, but I'd not be surprised to see Anna van der Breggen taking a shot at this race. It's one missing from her glittering palmares - the highest she ever finished the race was 3rd, in 2015 - and she may be keen to rectify that. Also from Team SD Worx-ProTime, Mischa Bredewold could be in with a shout. A loyal domestique to Demi Vollering, Bredewold's strength in her own right has shone through when she's been given the nod by her team in recent seasons, and the younger Dutchwoman could be a good bet for the final victory in Italy.

Milano-Sanremo – Saturday 22 March

The race formerly known as La Primavera Rosa, which featured as part of the Women's Road Cycling World Cup between 1999 and 2005, returns this year under the same name as the men's Monument, and featuring the same finish as the men’s race, which offers fans the mouth-watering prospect of seeing the best women in the world face off up the Poggio – the 4km ascent which almost always makes or breaks the race.

Key battlegrounds

Though the race won't quite be the 6-hour slog that the men must endure (and would we actually want it to be? The jury's out), at 156km it’s still pretty long, and it will be very recognisable to fans of the sport as effectively the same race. In terms of key pinch points, the women face the same run-in to the finale that the men tackle, with the smaller Tre Capi and Cipressa climbs preceding the race-maker, the main event, the Poggio di San Remo in all its glory. At 4km long and an average gradient of just 3.7%, the climb isn't going to smash the peloton to shreds, and will invite explosive attacks followed by hanging on for grim death, before a sometimes decisive descent to the finish line.

We don’t have recent history to consider in the case of the women, but we can take some cues from the men’s races where the race has exploded on the Poggio, and has continued to detonate on the descent. It’s a hugely unpredictable race and in the past four editions of the men’s race, it’s twice come down to a reduced bunch sprint, and twice been won solo – once from an attack launched going over the top of the Poggio, and once from the hair-raising attack on the descent that follows the decisive climb. It's likely that despite the reduced distance, the women's peloton won't be tempted to attack on one of the earlier climbs, though late breakaway efforts may be launched from here. But they are likely to be fruitless, as all guns will be blazing once the Poggio arrives.

The favourites

It’s tough to pick a winner from a bunch of incredible prospects in this race, given how hungry the women will be to take victory in the first edition of this reinvigorated race – the first at least, that any of them will have been able to compete in (and yes I did double check the results from 2005 just to be sure... Marianne Vos has been in the peloton a LONG time!)

For me, there are two who stand above the rest in terms of favourites – Lotte Kopecky, and Marianne Vos. Both of these riders can handle what - let's face it - isn't a hugely challenging climb, when you're that strong a rider, and both have the capability of maintaining their position at the front of the bunch. Furthermore, both are capable of delivering should it come down to a sprint from a small group. Both riders will open their seasons at Milano-Sanremo so it could be argued they may not be in race-winning form – but never put anything past either of these classy riders, who will undoubtedly arrive with their game faces on.

A third rider not to be discounted on home soil, and with some racing in her legs, is Elisa Longo Borghini. If she times her launch well, and can avoid having to sprint against the likes of Kopecky and Vos, she may be able to add this most coveted of victories to her already stacked palmares.

The outsiders

While similar names could be touted as potential winners for any of the spring Classics, as a good rider is a good rider, there are a few puncheurs who stand above the rest – should their names end up on the startlist for the race. Fem van Empel has the same kind of profile as Vos, capable of climbing and sprinting, and with a stone-cold temperament, the younger Dutchwoman could be the one for Visma-Lease A Bike should Vos not make the final selection for whatever reason. Liane Lippert is one of the punchiest riders in the bunch and if Movistar can position her well on the Poggio, she will almost certainly be in amongst the group of attackers at the head of the race. And Silvia Persico will offer an excellent back-up option for UAE Team ADQ – another Italian with excellent puncheur capabilities, Persico has proven herself over this kind of terrain before and has the engine to deliver the kind of effort required to win this race.

Finally, Pfeiffer Georgi (Team PicNic PostNL) is another rider made for Milano-Sanremo. She’s a savvy racer, and her team are known for placing themselves well in the final of races, often in support of sprinter Charlotte Kool, but on the Poggio, Georgi should shine. She has the bike handling skills to stay in contention on the descent, and is fast at the finish should she need to be – the British champion is an excellent outside bet for the win, for my money.