The race format remains unchanged, and the dynamics will likely follow a familiar script, but the Strade Bianche 2025 – both men’s and women’s race – features a brand-new challenge. After last year’s shake-up, which saw an extended race distance and the double ascent of Colle Pinzuto and Le Tolfe, organizers have added a fresh gravel sector to this year’s edition: Serravalle.
This time, the change doesn’t come in the decisive finale, but rather in the middle of the race. The Serravalle sector will slot into the men’s race between the legendary stretches of Pieve a Salti (6th sector, 8 km) and San Martino in Grania (8th sector, 9.5 km), both of which set the stage for the brutal Monte Sante Marie (9th sector, 11.5 km). That makes Serravalle the 7th sector, tackled after 99 km of racing, with a gruelling 9.3 km length – and it kicks off uphill.
Serravalle itself is a medieval hamlet in the municipality of Buonconvento, a historic waypoint along the Via Francigena, once guiding pilgrims and travelers across Tuscany. Famous for its 14th-century castle and the Church of San Lorenzo, the village offers a stunning window into the Tuscan countryside, a soil that constitutes the heart and soul of the Strade Bianche.
In the women’s race, Serravalle features as the 5th gravel sector, following that of La Piana (4th sector, 6.4 km). It comes far from the finish, sitting 104 km from Siena in the men’s race and 78 km out in the women’s, meaning it’s unlikely to be a decisive move-maker. However, it might well turn out to be a brutal trap for anyone struggling on their first encounter with its rough, rolling terrain. Thanks to this addition, the total gravel mileage jumps from 71 km to 81 km in the men’s race and from 40 km to 50 km for the women.
The finale remains the same as last year’s revamped Strade Bianche. After Monte Sante Marie, the men’s peloton will take on a punishing circuit, tackling Colle Pinzuto twice (2.4 km of climbing with ramps hitting 15%) and Le Tolfe twice (1.1 km with a savage 500-meter wall at 18%). Then comes the grand finale: the infamous Via Santa Caterina climb, a leg-breaking cobbled ramp before the breathtaking finish in Piazza del Campo, Siena.
