Elise Chabbey (FDJ United - SUEZ) claimed the biggest victory of her career at Strade Bianche Donne on Saturday. After an elite eight-rider group splintered on the steep final climb, Chabbey won the sprint finish on Piazza del Campo to take her first Women's WorldTour one-day title.
Katarzyna Niewiadoma (Canyon//SRAM Racing zondacrypto) finished second on the same time, with Chabbey's teammate Franziska Koch (FDJ United - SUEZ) behind her in third.
Results
Siena • Mar 7 • 133km
| Pos | Rider | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🥇 | Elise Chabbey | FDJ UNITED - SUEZFDJ UNITED - SUEZ | 3:35:42 |
| 🥈 | Katarzyna Anna Niewiadoma-Phinney | CANYON//SRAM ZONDACRYPTOCANYON//SRAM ZONDACRYPTO | +0:00 |
| 🥉 | Franziska Koch | FDJ UNITED - SUEZFDJ UNITED - SUEZ | +0:00 |
| 4 | Elisa Longo Borghini | UAE TEAM ADQUAE TEAM ADQ | +0:03 |
| 5 | Magdeleine Vallieres Mill | EF EDUCATION - OATLYEF EDUCATION - OATLY | +0:06 |
| 6 | Puck Pieterse | FENIX-PREMIER TECHFENIX-PREMIER TECH | +0:16 |
| 7 | Marianne Vos | TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKETEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE | +0:34 |
| 8 | Monica Trinca Colonel | LIV-ALULA-JAYCOLIV-ALULA-JAYCO | +0:37 |
| 9 | Shirin van Anrooij | LIDL - TREKLIDL - TREK | +1:21 |
| 10 | Niamh Mary Fisher-Black | LIDL - TREKLIDL - TREK | +1:47 |
| 11 | Noemi Rüegg | EF EDUCATION - OATLYEF EDUCATION - OATLY | +2:29 |
| 12 | Dominika Wlodarczyk | UAE TEAM ADQUAE TEAM ADQ | +3:07 |
| 13 | Liane Lippert | MOVISTAR TEAMMOVISTAR TEAM | +3:28 |
| 14 | Mie Bjørndal Ottestad | UNO-X MOBILITYUNO-X MOBILITY | +3:50 |
| 15 | Sigrid Ytterhus Haugset | UNO-X MOBILITYUNO-X MOBILITY | +5:44 |
| 16 | Flora Perkins | FENIX-PREMIER TECHFENIX-PREMIER TECH | +5:57 |
| 17 | Cedrine Kerbaol | EF EDUCATION - OATLYEF EDUCATION - OATLY | +6:02 |
| 18 | Anna van der Breggen | TEAM SD WORX - PROTIMETEAM SD WORX - PROTIME | +6:15 |
| 19 | Paula Blasi Cairol | UAE TEAM ADQUAE TEAM ADQ | +6:15 |
| 20 | Demi Vollering | FDJ UNITED - SUEZFDJ UNITED - SUEZ | +6:15 |
| 21 | Justine Ghekiere | AG INSURANCE - SOUDAL TEAMAG INSURANCE - SOUDAL TEAM | +6:15 |
| 22 | Mary Patricia Kimberley le Court de Billot - Pienaar | AG INSURANCE - SOUDAL TEAMAG INSURANCE - SOUDAL TEAM | +6:15 |
| 23 | Riejanne Markus | LIDL - TREKLIDL - TREK | +6:18 |
| 24 | Eleonora Ciabocco | TEAM PICNIC POSTNLTEAM PICNIC POSTNL | +6:21 |
| 25 | Femke de Vries | TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKETEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE | +6:25 |
| 26 | Cecilie Ludwig | CANYON//SRAM ZONDACRYPTOCANYON//SRAM ZONDACRYPTO | +6:28 |
| 27 | Clémence Latimier | MA PETITE ENTREPRISEMA PETITE ENTREPRISE | +6:28 |
| 28 | Silvia Persico | UAE TEAM ADQUAE TEAM ADQ | +6:37 |
| 29 | Pauline Ferrand Prevot | TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKETEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE | +6:37 |
| 30 | Lotte Kopecky | TEAM SD WORX - PROTIMETEAM SD WORX - PROTIME | +7:06 |
| 31 | Lucinda Brand | LIDL - TREKLIDL - TREK | +9:58 |
| 32 | Nienke Vinke | TEAM SD WORX - PROTIMETEAM SD WORX - PROTIME | +9:58 |
| 33 | Margarita Victoria Garcia Cañellas | UAE TEAM ADQUAE TEAM ADQ | +9:58 |
| 34 | Millie Couzens | FENIX-PREMIER TECHFENIX-PREMIER TECH | +10:01 |
| 35 | Léa Curinier | FDJ UNITED - SUEZFDJ UNITED - SUEZ | +12:56 |
| 36 | Sarah van Dam | TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKETEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE | +12:56 |
| 37 | Amber Kraak | FDJ UNITED - SUEZFDJ UNITED - SUEZ | +13:01 |
| 38 | Josie Nelson | TEAM PICNIC POSTNLTEAM PICNIC POSTNL | +13:10 |
| 39 | Urška Žigart | AG INSURANCE - SOUDAL TEAMAG INSURANCE - SOUDAL TEAM | +14:10 |
| 40 | Morgane Coston | MA PETITE ENTREPRISEMA PETITE ENTREPRISE | +14:49 |
| 41 | Ella Wyllie | LIV-ALULA-JAYCOLIV-ALULA-JAYCO | +14:54 |
| 42 | Alison Jackson | ST MICHEL - PREFERENCE HOME - AUBER93ST MICHEL - PREFERENCE HOME - AUBER93 | +14:58 |
| 43 | Laura Molenaar | VOLKERWESSELS CYCLING TEAMVOLKERWESSELS CYCLING TEAM | +14:58 |
| 44 | Francesca Barale | MOVISTAR TEAMMOVISTAR TEAM | +15:03 |
| 45 | Arlenis Sierra Canadilla | MOVISTAR TEAMMOVISTAR TEAM | +15:03 |
| 46 | Sara Martin Martin | MOVISTAR TEAMMOVISTAR TEAM | +15:03 |
| 47 | Lore de Schepper | AG INSURANCE - SOUDAL TEAMAG INSURANCE - SOUDAL TEAM | +15:06 |
| 48 | Sophie von Berswordt | VOLKERWESSELS CYCLING TEAMVOLKERWESSELS CYCLING TEAM | +15:13 |
| 49 | Steffi Häberlin | TEAM SD WORX - PROTIMETEAM SD WORX - PROTIME | +15:46 |
| 50 | Erica Magnaldi | UAE TEAM ADQUAE TEAM ADQ | +15:46 |
| 51 | Margot Vanpachtenbeke | LIDL - TREKLIDL - TREK | +15:49 |
| 52 | Nina Berton | EF EDUCATION - OATLYEF EDUCATION - OATLY | +15:54 |
| 53 | Maya Kingma | AROMITALIA VAIANOAROMITALIA VAIANO | +15:58 |
| 54 | Marthe Truyen | FENIX-PREMIER TECHFENIX-PREMIER TECH | +15:59 |
| 55 | Mischa Bredewold | TEAM SD WORX - PROTIMETEAM SD WORX - PROTIME | +15:59 |
| 56 | Christina Schweinberger | FENIX-PREMIER TECHFENIX-PREMIER TECH | +15:59 |
| 57 | Neve Summer Bradbury | CANYON//SRAM ZONDACRYPTOCANYON//SRAM ZONDACRYPTO | +16:09 |
| 58 | Ruby Roseman-Gannon | LIV-ALULA-JAYCOLIV-ALULA-JAYCO | +16:11 |
| 59 | Letizia Borghesi | AG INSURANCE - SOUDAL TEAMAG INSURANCE - SOUDAL TEAM | +16:18 |
| 60 | Caroline Andersson | LIV-ALULA-JAYCOLIV-ALULA-JAYCO | +16:18 |
| 61 | Mireia Benito Pellicer | AG INSURANCE - SOUDAL TEAMAG INSURANCE - SOUDAL TEAM | +16:18 |
| 62 | Gaia Masetti | TEAM PICNIC POSTNLTEAM PICNIC POSTNL | +16:33 |
| 63 | Chiara Reghini | TOP GIRLS FASSA BORTOLOTOP GIRLS FASSA BORTOLO | +16:33 |
| 64 | Dilyxine Miermont | TEAM PICNIC POSTNLTEAM PICNIC POSTNL | +16:33 |
| 65 | Heidi Franz | ST MICHEL - PREFERENCE HOME - AUBER93ST MICHEL - PREFERENCE HOME - AUBER93 | +16:33 |
| 66 | Ingvild Gåskjenn | UNO-X MOBILITYUNO-X MOBILITY | +16:33 |
| 67 | Audrey de Keersmaeker | TEAM PICNIC POSTNLTEAM PICNIC POSTNL | +16:33 |
| 68 | Esmée Peperkamp | VOLKERWESSELS CYCLING TEAMVOLKERWESSELS CYCLING TEAM | +16:33 |
| 69 | Noemie Abgrall | MA PETITE ENTREPRISEMA PETITE ENTREPRISE | +16:42 |
| 70 | Anne Knijnenburg | VOLKERWESSELS CYCLING TEAMVOLKERWESSELS CYCLING TEAM | +16:55 |
Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) and Demi Vollering (FDJ-Suez), two of the pre-race favourites for the 2026 women's Strade Bianche, were effectively removed from contention on Saturday after a race motorbike led their chasing group off the official 133km course in Tuscany at around 33km to go. Other misdirected riders included Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Team Visma | Lease a Bike), Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx - Protime), and Kim Le Court (AG Insurance - Soudal).
By the time the riders realised the mistake and navigated back to the correct gravel route, they had lost close to three minutes to the leaders, a deficit that proved impossible to close before the finish in Siena's Piazza del Campo.
Vollering finished 20th at +6:15, Kopecky 30th at +7:06.
How the finale played out
Eight riders emerged from the second loop through Pinzuto and Le Tolfe: Chabbey, Niewiadoma, Koch, Elisa Longo Borghini (UAE Team ADQ), Magdeleine Vallieres (EF Education - Oatly), Puck Pieterse (Fenix - Premier Tech), Marianne Vos (Team Visma | Lease a Bike Women), and Monica Trinca Colonel (Liv AlUla Jayco). FDJ's two-rider presence in the group gave them the tactical luxury usually associated with SD Worx, while SD Worx themselves had no rider in the front eight, their best-placed finisher was Anna van der Breggen, who finished 18th.
Following a splintering of the group on the 12% inclines Via Santa Catarina, Chabbey made it to the final right hand corner on the Piazza del Campo first, from a leading group of four, and held off Niewiadoma to the line.
The major threads from the race's dramatic misdirection
Lotte Kopecky's reaction
Kopecky was notably self-critical rather than deflecting blame toward the organisation. "I was simply not strong enough," she told reporters including DHnet, adding that the wrong turn was not the decisive factor for her personally – she had already been struggling before the misdirection. "I had the feeling that more blood was going to my stomach than to my legs," she told HLN. She finished 30th at +7:06.
Kopecky also acknowledged the wrong turn itself, explaining after the finish: "I didn't realise it at first, but the gravel was in terrible condition... Then I thought, 'We're not in the right place.' But the motorbiker had gone that way in front of us," she told Sporza.
Demi Vollering's reaction
"After suffering an untimely puncture on the Le Tolfe gravel sector that dropped her into the chase group, Vollering was actively fighting her way back toward the front when the motorbike misdirected them off course – a double misfortune that ended any lingering hopes. "I had a flat tire at the worst moment... I thought, 'don't give up, I can still come back.' But then they sent us the wrong way," she said in the post-finish flash interview."
But rather than dwelling on her own bad luck of a double-misfortune, Vollering celebrated Chabbey and Koch's result. "No matter how bad my day was, this is brilliant," she said, calling herself the proudest woman on the Piazza del Campo. "Chabbey and Koch didn't need my instructions," she added in comments made to WielerFlits.
Race organisation under scrutiny
The Strade Bianche route crosses numerous unmarked gravel tracks, and the responsibility for directing riders correctly falls squarely on the race organisation and their moto marshals.
Coverage and social reaction squarely levelled blame at the organisers. Technically, 1.2.064 of the UCI regulations states that “Riders shall study the course in advance", shifting the liability onto them. But incidents like this clearly put the organisers' ability to direct riders properly into focus. The question is whether RCS Sport will face any scrutiny or sanction from the UCI, and whether this puts pressure on the organisers to change how they marshal a route that threads between dozens of similar-looking gravel tracks across the Tuscan hills.
Cover image credit: Thomas Maheux/SWpix.com
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