Kasia Niewiadoma (Canyon-SRAM) has been on the podium four times in a row, but has never won the Strade Bianche. Her natural talent on challenging, punchy terrain is a perfect match for the white gravel roads of Tuscany, and she will be a strong contender for the win in Siena on Saturday.

"I'm excited and really looking forward to Strade. I miss racing. It's time to do more than train and prepare. This is one of my favorite races and I want to enjoy it no matter what. I want to fight for the podium. It's hard to predict how the other racers will do, but we will find out on the day. There is no place to hide on that course."

The Women's World Tour will resume in Strade Bianche after a season hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic in March. While some athletes have already resumed their season with three one-day races in Spain last week, many will compete their first races of the season in Italy.

The Women's World Tour kicked off in February with the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, won by Sunweb's Leanne Lippert. However, Nieuwadma did not compete in this race, nor did she compete in the opening weekend of the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Omloop van Het Hageland.

Strade Bianche will be Nieviadma's first race of the season, but she is preparing for a restart and said she recently completed a training block.

"I had a good training recently. During the quarantine period, I was able to rest my body and mind. Now I'm continuing to train hard, but I feel fresh. It's easier to run hard with sore legs. I have fresh energy. Every training session has a positive impact on me and I feel stronger at the end of every training block," Nienyadoma said.

The women's peloton will take the start line at Fortezza Medicare in Siena and embark on a 136-km race that includes eight white gravel roads in the Tuscan countryside before contesting the finish line in Piazza del Campo in Siena.

Temperatures are expected to be in the mid-30s in the dry, but Nieniadoma said he was unsure if heat would play a significant role in Saturday's race.

"All of our previous competitions have been in March and we usually race in cold and rainy conditions. Strade Bianche in the summer is different. There is definitely more heat, but at the same time the course and profile remain the same.

Canyon-SRAM has a strong team, including Alena Amiariusik, Hannah Barnes, Elena Cecchini, Ella Harris, and Omer Shapira. Cecchini, who has competed in the tournament four times, said her best chance for victory is a solo runaway.

"The best chance is for one rider to run solo," Cecchini said. Cecchini said, "I think that's the best way to enjoy the super hard and steep finish. We're going to race strong and we're going to embrace every opportunity throughout the race."