The Strade Bianche is one of the most prestigious classics on the spring calendar, but a new generation of Grand Tour riders with a penchant for aggressive racing is invading the territory of classic riders and beginning to steal their thunder.

Greg Van Avermaat (AG2R Citroen) has competed in the Strade Bianche 12 times and has the climbing ability to handle the hilly parcours, finishing second to Zdenek Stival in 2015 and Michał Kwiatkowski in 2017. However, subtle changes in the sport and the emergence of more aggressive and technically skilled climbers have greatly reduced his chances of success.

"Strade Bianche is one of my favorite races, but in recent years it has become harder to compete with climbers," Van Avermaert told Anne Blackman of the Belga News Agency.

"My best chances here are probably over. I've noticed over the last few years that it's getting harder and harder to compete with the 'climbers.'"

"In the early competitions at Strade Bianche, there were a lot of classics at the start, but in recent years there have been a lot of very good climbers competing. I'm still a 75-77 kg guy. I have to drag that to climb."

There is no doubt that Van Avermaert's morale has been lowered after seeing this year's start list.

"Mathieu [van der Pol] and Wout [van Aert] won't be on the start, but all the other top guys are there," he noted.

"Tadei Pogachal is the strongest player now, and there are others like (Julian) Alaphilippe and (Alejandro) Valverde. I can name 20 people who could win the Strade Bianche."

Van Avermaat has struggled in the 2021 season, but his defensive run last Saturday at Omloop Het Niusbrod earned him a third-place finish.

He may take a very different tactic in Strade Bianche.

"Of course, I still believe I can do something, otherwise I would have to throw in the towel.

"But we just have to race differently than before, and take less initiative.

"But the Strade Bianche is a completely different and tougher race, and the stronger rider wins.

The 184-km race includes 63 km of gravel roads spanning 11 sectors, but the Strade Bianche is very different from Paris-Roubaix or the Tour de Flanders. Because it runs through the rolling hills of Tuscany, the elevation of the Strade Bianche is 3,100 m.

The hills and gravel roads of the Strade Bianche have allowed Grand Tour winners such as Pogachar, Richard Carapaz, and Egan Bernal to ride the heavier classics. have been able to do so.

In the early Strade Bianche, Fabian Cancellara won the climb in 2008, 2012, and 2016, but since then the classics have often been overtaken and defeated: in August 2020, Wout Van Aert (Jumbo Visma) and Mathieu Van Der Pol (Alpecin Phoenix) won last year, proving that they are more than just the usual tag of Classic contenders.

Last year Bernal competed with Van der Poel and Julien Alaphilippe, and in 2018 Romain Bardet beat the young Van Art on the last climb. Peter Sagan has finished twice on Strade Bianche, but as riders have peaked higher in shorter races in recent years, it has become almost impossible for Classics riders to stay in Paris-Roubaix form while tackling the Strade Bianche climb. In fact, Van Aert will miss this year's Strade Bianche, using Paris-Nice as a preparation period for the Classics, hoping for big wins in the Tour de Flanders and Paris-Roubaix.

Perhaps only Julien Alaphilippe has the breadth of talent to contend for victory at Strade Bianche and peak again at the Ardennes Classic.

Pogachar has a varied goal and race program. He can peak at the UAE Tour and then target Strade Bianche, Tirreno-Adriatico, and Milan-San Remo.

Richard Calapaz, Jacob Fuglsang, Sergio Iguita, Miguel Angel Lopez, Pero Bilbao, Ruben Guerreiro, and Sepp Kuss have similar, if not the same form as Pogachar. Classical riders such as Michael Matthews, Van Avermaat, Quinn Simmons, Gianni Moscon, and Kasper Asgreen will have difficulty competing, and only Tim Wellens (Lot Soudal) and Tige Benoot (Jumbo Visma) currently have the punk and form that could pose a threat to climbers in a headlong race without crashes or crosswinds.