5 insights from Strade Bianche Donne (women): Thrilling race, a new winner and a German success

1. women's cycling is really exciting, the power density is increasing

Unlike in the men's race, which Tadej Pogacar decided early on with his solo ride, the women's competition remained thrilling right up to the last few metres. Three riders were still fighting for victory in the 12th edition of the race on the Piazza del Campo. The realisation: the women's races are extremely exciting, the power density is increasing - after many solo rides in recent years.

2 Elise Chabbey: The Swiss doctor is a winner - at last!

Jens Voigt would say that to be successful in cycling, you just have to be persistent enough to beat your luck, to keep trying. Elise Chabbey is perhaps not the greatest talent in women's cycling. But the former racing canoeist from western Switzerland has been attracting attention for years with her offensive riding style - which has mostly gone unrewarded. At Strade Bianche, the fourth-placed rider at the World Championships celebrated her biggest victory to date. When her captain at Equipe FDJ-SUEZ Demi Vollering fell back hopelessly due to a defect, she jumped into the breach. Animated the race, fell back, fought her way back up - and was right at the front at the decisive moment. Finally at the highest level.

3. Franziska Koch is the German number one

For years, Franziska Koch was trapped in a role as a helper for Team Picnic-PostNL, unable to really showcase her talent. Now, at the age of 25, she has arrived at the top of the world. She has worked on her weight and has visibly been given more responsibility and freedom with the new FDJ-SUEZ team. In a tight bend just before the finish, she was slowed down in the battle for victory. In addition, she repeatedly helped her team-mate and eventual winner Elise Chabbey during the race - perhaps a habit from her many years of helping out in the second tier of professional cycling. To summarise: More than third place would have been possible. However, the reigning German champion is currently the number one in German women's cycling when it comes to one-day races. Liane Lippert finished in 13th place, 3:28 minutes behind.

4 Pauline Ferrand-Prévot is beatable

Last year, she won the Tour de France in superior style. The Frenchwoman Pauline Ferrand-Prévot was fit to the point and had a visible advantage on the long mountains thanks to her extreme weight management. The Olympic mountain bike champion had previously proven her versatility with her victory in Paris-Roubaix. One could have debated whether she would become a kind of female Pogacar after her return to road cycling - a serial winner. The current realisation from the 2026 season debut: She wasn't at her best yet. Unlike the Slovenian, she cannot perform at the highest level from the start of the season to the end. This was already evident at the Road World Championships last autumn, when she seemed powerless. It is true that Ferrand-Prévot also suffered a defect at Strade Bianche. But that shouldn't set her back hopelessly, as was the case now. The fact that her group was later misdirected was no longer decisive. As a reminder: Pogacar was not even able to slow down a heavy crash on the way to victory in Siena in the past.

5th Team FDJ-SUEZ is a hot stock in cycling

The French racing team FDJ-SUEZ currently looks like the strongest force in women's cycling. Team manager Stephen Delcourt's squad is led by Demi Vollering, the 2023 Tour winner, but how the team compensated for the absence of its best riders during the race shows its newfound strength. With Elise Chabbey and Franziska Koch, the team dominated the race and managed to defeat Elisa Longo Borghini and Kasia Niewiadoma, who were individually stronger on the mountains, as a team. Apparently, this class also impresses major international sponsors. According to industry rumours, Red Bull wants to invest a lot of money there in the future - and thus also become more involved in women's cycling. Allegedly, the commitment of the new name sponsor is to be finalised before the upcoming Tour de France Femmes. At Strade Bianche, Delcourt told the public: "No comment". A denial sounds different.