For Tadej, the countdown to the first race of the 2026 season is almost over. On Saturday, Strade Bianche awaits him, the unofficial sixth monument on the cycling calendar, where he has claimed some of his most remarkable victories. On Tuscany’s white roads he was the best in 2022, 2024 and 2025: the first time he won after a solo attack on the gravel sector of Monte Sante Marie 50 kilometers from the finish; the second time, on an extended route, he stayed out front alone on the same sector for a good 80 kilometers before the end; and last year he beat all of his rivals despite a nasty crash.
He dropped Tom Pidcock last on the gravel sector of Colle Pinzuto, which from now on will be named after Tadej. This is an honor reserved for three-time winners of Strade Bianche, and before him it had happened only to Fabian Cancellara (2008, 2012, 2016), whose name is already borne by the Monte Sante Marie sector.
»Strade is a race where I have unforgettable memories. My record there is pretty good and I hope that I will be in a good position again come Saturday. We expect there to be some strong rivals, the startlist is always at a high level for these big races and it should make things exciting for the fans,« Tadej said about one of his favorite races, which will be slightly changed this time.
At 202.7 kilometers (213 last year), the route will be somewhat less demanding than in recent years, and the riders will also skip two of the previous gravel sectors, so there will be 14 of them this year with a total length of 64 kilometers (80 last year). The Monte Sante Marie sector, where Tadej attacked in all of his victories so far, will be 70 kilometers from the finish this time.
»It is my first race of the season, and I hope to have a good start. I’ve been cheering on from the couch until now, so I’m excited to get stuck in myself again and finally race. The team has been on a good wave at the moment with many wins already and we hope to continue that over the next few races,« added Tadej. With a fourth victory he would remain alone at the top of the all-time list of the most successful riders at Strade Bianche.
He will have a very strong UAE Team Emirates – XRG squad alongside him. It will include this year’s UAE Tour winner Isaac del Toro, Jan Christen, Felix Großschartner, Domen Novak, Florian Vermeersch, and Kevin Vermaerke.
In addition, before the start of the new season Tadej received another honor. For his achievements in 2025, in which he notched 20 wins, including a fourth at the Tour and a second consecutive at the World Championships, he received a Laureus nomination in the category of World Sportsman of the Year. In the running for this prestigious award, which will be presented on April 20 in Madrid, are also the world’s number one tennis player, Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, and his great Italian rival Jannik Sinner, who won Wimbledon. The finalists also include Frenchman Ousmane Dembélé, who led Paris Saint-Germain’s footballers to victory in the Champions League, Swedish pole vaulter Mondo Duplantis, who received the award last year, and Spanish racer Marc Márquez, who won his seventh MotoGP World Championship title.