Last week saw an exciting week of racing in the men's WorldTour, with some of the best riders in the peloton split across two decent-sized early-season stage races: Tirreno-Adriatico in Italy and Paris-Nice in France.

Much of the action was gratifyingly mountainous – or at the very least, hilly – resulting in some engaging battles. There were plenty of thrills and no lack of spills – one of which put Grand Tour star Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek) out of action. Some of the results were more predictable than others, and not everyone will be going home with a smile on their faces. Here's a snapshot of what cycling showed us last week.

1. UAE has a wunderkind

Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) may have experienced a certain reluctance about beating his friend Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe) in the latter's home town of Camerino on Saturday's Tirreno-Adriatico stage, but the fact he did it anyway speaks volumes.

The Mexican is, not unlike his more famous Slovenian team-mate, clearly a born winner and that victory at the end of a lumpy, 188km stage dotted the i's and crossed the t's on his overall victory the following day.

Del Toro made the short journey back to his San Marino base with the GC, points and youth classifications under his belt and, at just 22 years old, is clearly destined for great things. Not that we didn't know that already, but every victory amplifies it.

2. Jonas Vingegaard is back on top

After a bumpy start to the season involving run-ins with fans, crashes and illness, it was gratifying to see Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) looking back to something like his best at Paris-Nice.

The Dane won two lumpy mid-race stages as well as all the classifications available to him – general, mountains and points. He came very close to winning the final stage in Nice too, but was pipped on the line by Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious).

Vingegaard's performance in France won't exactly have Grand Tour nemesis Tadej Pogačar quaking in his DMTs, but it won't have gone entirely unnoticed by the Slovenian either.

3. Félicitations to the French

Paris-Nice saw another branch negotiated in the slow but sure climb of French cycling back to the top of the tree – and that was without a Paul Seixas in sight.

Gallic riders from a variety of teams helped make the race throughout, filling out five of the top-12 on stage two for example and half the top-10 on Saturday's stage six. Among them, Kévin Vauquelin (Ineos Grenadiers) was the most successful on GC with fourth place, but he was followed by Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious) in fifth – who also rounded out the race with a win on the final stage that saw him outsprint Jonas Vingegaard one-on-one. Also contributing to the Gallic glow of success was Vaquelin's team-mate Dorian Godon, who won a truncated stage six.

4. Ineos Grenadiers "on the way back"

The British-registered team have come in for a fair bit of flak in recent seasons, but their rides across both races last week gave them much to be confident about going into the next part of this season.

Their stage three team time trial victory at Paris-Nice will likely be among the team's biggest celebrations, as it was such a collaborative effort, and the scaffolding for Kévin Vauquelin's high GC finish. Afterwards new DS Geraint Thomas himself said: "We've had a rough couple of years but we're on the way back now," showing that the previous paucity of results and what now looks like a bit of a turnaround has not been lost on the team.

Its riders also claimed a one-two in the the Tirreno-Adriatico stage one ITT via Filippo Ganna and Thymen Arensman, while dogged prodding by Dorian Godon and Vauqelin throughout Paris-Nice ultimately resulted in a late stage win for Godon and that GC fourth for his team-mate.

5. Picnic PostNL yet to deliver

Not all teams have as much to celebrate as Ineos Grenadiers and others. Only eight of the 18 WorldTour teams registered stage or GC wins across Tirreno and Paris-Nice combined, leaving plenty going without. However, one team has still to hit the mark at all this year and would have been less than pleased to miss out – Picnic PostNL.

Neither the men's nor the women's squads of the Dutch-registered team have won so far, with the men in the unenviable position of having lost 75% of their four winners from last season with Oscar Onley and Tobias Lund Andresen having changed teams, and Nils Eeckhoff out after having an operation on his iliac artery.

The men's team has registered two podium finishes, although compared with UAE Team Emirates-XRG's 10 wins and 37 podiums, it's quite the contrast. The season is young though. No doubt Picnic PostNL will deliver the goods in due course.

Isaac del Toro admitted he had “mixed feelings” after beating his friend and Tirreno-Adriatico rival Giulio Pelizzari in the Italian’s hometown of Camerino.

The Mexican stamped his authority on this year’s edition of Tirreno-Adriatico with his first stage victory of the race.

Del Toro, who already has a brace of second places this week, is set to win the GC as long as he can survive the sprint stage on the final day tomorrow.

Speaking to TNT Sport at the finish Del Toro said: “We’ve been quite close to this but today was very nice. I’m super happy. But also I have mixed feelings. It’s pretty strange. This is for the guys and the staff really.”

The UAE-Emirates leader timed his moves to perfection as the GC contenders did battle on the steep final climb to Camerino.

The peloton had been reduced to 24 riders as it came into the bottom of the final climb, having just mopped up the remains of the day’s break.

Wout Van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) was the first to attack, he was shortly followed by Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost), who then took up the lead on the road.

Del Toro watched his rivals closely and bided his time. Pelizarri, who started the day second on GC just 23 seconds back, was the first of the GC riders to attack and his second attempt took him clear of the chasing group.

But Del Toro was lurking and on the final steep ramp of the climb into the town centre to accelerated to overtake his friend with Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike), sitting third on GC, in tow.

He said: “I wasn’t sure I could bring it back because it’s super hard and he’s super strong. So we couldn’t let him go far away. It was super tough to bring him back.”

The top three rode together for a short time before Del Toro attacked and only Jorgenson could follow. A further acceleration just a few corners from the line took the Mexican clear and behind him Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) overhauled Jorgenson for second place on the stage.

The UAE Emirates-XRG rider said that he would have to be “attentive” on the race’s final sprint stage to secure the blue jersey, which he now holds by a margin of 0.42, tomorrow.

The final stage will take the riders from Civitanova Marche to San Benedetto del Tronto. Although the route features a pair of smaller climbs near the start the final 70km are all extremely flat.

Result

Tirreno-Adriatico, Stage 6: San Severino Marche > Camerino (188km)

1. Isaac del Toro (Mex), UAE Team Emirates – XRG, in 4:46:50
2. Tobias Halland Johannessen (Nor), Uno-X Mobility, +03s
3. Matteo Jorgenson (USA), Visma-Lease a Bike, at same time
4. Giulio Pelizzari (Ita), Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, +09s
5. Giulio Ciccone (Ita) Lidl-Trek, +11s
6. Santiago Buitrago (Col), Bahrain Victorious, at same time
7. Ben Healy (Ire), EF Education-EasyPost, +21s
8. Magnus Sheffield (USA), Ineos Grenadiers, +25s
9. Primož Roglič (Slo) Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe, +27s
10. Andrea Vendrame (Ita) Jayco AlUla, +32s

General Classification

1. Isaac del Toro (Mex), UAE Team Emirates - XRG, in 24:57:20
2. Giulio Pelizzari (Ita), Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, +42s
3. Matteo Jorgenson (USA), Visma-Lease a Bike, +43s
4. Tobias Halland Johannessen (Nor), Uno-X Mobility, +1:15
5. Primož Roglič (Slo), Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe, +1:21s
6. Giulio Ciccone (Ita), Lidl-Trek, +1:26
7. Santiago Buitrago (Col), Bahrain Victorious, +1:49
8. Ben Healy (Ire), EF Education-EasyPost, +1:55
9. Magnus Sheffield (USA), Ineos Grenadiers, +2:02
10. Alessandro Pinarello (Ita) NSN Cycling, +2:06

This time last week, EF Education-EasyPost had no WorldTour wins in 2026. As of Friday, the American squad now has two, with Michael Valgren escaping to victory on stage five of Tirreno-Adriatico.

The Dane attacked early on Friday, staying ahead of the peloton for almost 150km. He dropped his final breakaway companion, Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor Pro Cycling) on the last climb, soloing to victory. It is his first WorldTour win for eight years.

Behind, Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) led the favourites in to climb into the race lead, with Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) finishing third. The previous race leader, Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe) finished 19 seconds behind Del Toro, ceding the blue jersey as a result, and is now 23 seconds behind the Mexican overall. Jorgenson moved up to third on GC.

Del Toro moved off the front of what remained of the peloton with around 5km to go, with only Jorgenson able to follow on the climb of Santuario del Beato Sante.

"It's unbelievable," Valgren said. "We all work so hard for this, and I had a good winter at home with all my family, and the team supported me. I just had a baby, one month ago, and so it's for them, and for the team. I'm speechless.

"It was a really hard start with a lot of attacks, and I bridged across and we worked really well together. In the end, I thought I had good legs all day, so I wanted to make an early attack, and Julian [Alaphilippe] came with me, and we worked well together. In the end, it was such a hard day. We were pushing all day and I just had amazing legs and luck."

In 2022, Valgren crashed heavily at the Route d’Occitanie, which left him with a list of horrendous injuries, including a fractured pelvis, dislocated hip, damage to his ACL and MCL ligaments in his knee as well as a shattered meniscus.

The 34-year-old spent time on EF's development team as he rebuilt his body, and his career. Four years on, he is back on the world stage, winning races.

Two stages remain of Tirreno, although only Saturday's will likely see a general classification battle.

Results

Tirreno-Adriatico, Stage 5: Marotta-Mondolfo > Mombaroccio (184km)

1. Michael Valgren (Den), EF Education-EasyPost, in 4:43:33
2. Isaac del Toro (Mex), UAE Team Emirates - XRG, +11s
3. Matteo Jorgenson (USA), Visma-Lease a Bike, at same time
4. Tobias Halland Johannessen (Nor), Uno-X Mobility, +24s
5. Giulio Ciccone (Ita), Lidl-Trek, +28s
6. Giulio Pellizzari (Ita), Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe, +30s
7. Primož Roglič (Slo) Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe, at same time
8. Alessandro Pinarello (Ita) NSN Cycling, +40s
9. Michael Storer (Aus) Tudor Pro Cycling, +41s
10. Santiago Buitrago (Col), Bahrain Victorious, at same time

General Classification after stage 5

1. Isaac del Toro (Mex), UAE Team Emirates - XRG, in 20:10:40
2. Giulio Pelizzari (Ita), Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, +23s
3. Matteo Jorgenson (USA), Visma-Lease a Bike, +34s
4. Primož Roglič (Slo), Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe, +44s
5. Giulio Ciccone (Ita), Lidl-Trek, +1:05
6. Tobias Halland Johannessen (Nor), Uno-X Mobility, +1:08
7. Alessandro Pinarello (Ita) NSN Cycling, +1:24
8. Ben Healy (Ire), EF Education-EasyPost, at same time
9. Magnus Sheffield (USA), Ineos Grenadiers, +1:27
10. Santiago Buitrago (Col), Bahrain Victorious, +1:28

Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech) blasted to victory on stage four of Tirreno-Adriatico in a 500 metre rush to the line to take his second stage win of the race.

The final metres of the Italian race saw Jan Christen (UAE Emirates-XRG) make an early push to the front of the leading pack, before Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) slipped ahead on his left. But the Italian couldn’t hold the lead for long, as Van der Poel accelerated forwards in a seemingly effortless display of dominance.

The Dutchman was followed by Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) in second and Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility) in third.

"It was quite a hard day with a strong breakaway," Van der Poel explained after the race. "The pace was really high all day.

"In the end, Visma did a really good job. I could gamble a bit because I'd already won my stage. I just waited for the sprint and I think I did everything perfectly in the last kilometre," he said.

"I was expecting a late attack from Filippo Ganna. I also knew Visma was going to take a sprint with Wout [van Aert]. I just tried to react immediately on everything. I launched my sprint a bit too early maybe - with the headwind it was quite far away from the finish line," the Dutchman said of the race.

"Luckily I managed to get it to the line. It was a flat sprint but everything that came before was not so flat. It was a hard day. I'm really happy to finish it off. I'm in a good shape".

Pellizzari has also taken the general classification lead from Isaac Del Toro (UAE Emirates-XRG) and will tackle stage five in the white jersey of the overall race leader. The pair are currently separated by two seconds.

"I don't know how I did it!" A breathless Pellizzari said in an interview with Cycling Pro Net at the finish line.

"I came with a lot of speed in the sprint," he continued. “I think I actually won the sprint from the group, but Van der Poel was already ahead."

The race followed a 213km route from Tagliacozzo to Martinsicuro via snow-capped mountains and a decisive final 60km sprinkled with short, sharp climbs.

An impressive early break that included Tibor Del Grosso, (Alepcin-Premier Tech) Liam Slock (Lotto Intermarché), and Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility) took an early lead that climbed to over three minutes, growing on the downhill of the first - and highest - climb of the day.

The final kilometres of the race were dominated by the biggest dames, with Van der Poel, Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike), Ganna, Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) and Ben Healy (EF Education EasyPost) all following Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) into the straight seaside drag to the finish line.

Results

Tirreno-Adriatico, Stage 4: Tagliacozzo > Martinsicuro, 213km

1. Mathieu van der Poel (Ned), Alpecin-Premier Tech, in a time of 4:51:40
2. Giulio Pellizzari (Ita), Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe, at same time
3. Tobias Halland Johannessen (Nor), Uno-X Mobility, ast
4. Clément Champoussin (Fra), XDS Astana, ast
5. Wout van Aert (Bel), Visma-Lease a Bike, ast
6. Ben Healy (Ire), EF Education-EasyPost, ast
7. Andrea Vendrame (Ita), Jayco AlUla, ast
8. Alessandro Pinarello (Ita), NSN Cycling, ast
9. Filippo Ganna (Ita), Ineos Grenadiers, ast
10. Isaac del Toro (Mex), UAE Team Emirates - XRG, ast

General Classification after stage 4

1. Giulio Pelizzari (Ita), Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, in 15:27:00
2. Isaac del Toro (Mex), UAE Team Emirates - XRG +2
3. Primož Roglič (Slo), Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe, +21
4. Matteo Jorgenson (USA), Visma-Lease a Bike, +34
5. Ben Healy (Ire), EF Education-EasyPost, +39
6. Andrea Vendrame (Ita) Jayco AlUla, +42
7. Magnus Sheffield (USA), Ineos Grenadiers, +42
8. Giulio Ciccone (Ita), Lidl-Trek, +44
9. Alan Hatherly (RSA), Jayco AlUla, +46
10. Antonio Tiberi (Ita), Bahrain-Victorious, +49

Tobias Lund Andresen (Decathlon-CMA CGM) sprinted to victory in a rain-drenched third stage of Tirreno-Adriatico this afternoon.

The Dane was chased to the line by Arnaud de Lie (Lotto Intermarché) and Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Premier Tech) in a race that exploded in the last kilometre into Magliano de’Marsi.

"My plan was to do a long sprint," Lund Andresen said after the race. "Everyone has cold legs and we basically had it pretty easy in the last bit. [In] a long sprint, normally everyone can do the same when you're really cold. So, I just wanted to be there first."

"It's one of the biggest races of the year, so to take a win here is amazing," Lund continued.

"It's been unbelievable so far. I probably didn't even believe myself that I could take such a big step this year, but it just keeps on giving and my team is so amazing."

At 225km long, the race from Cortona was the longest stage in the Tirreno-Adriatico, and marked by two significant features: a 2.3km climb at Todi and an intermediate sprint at Casette.

Diego Pablo Sevilla (Polti VisitMalta) took the early climb points, with Danny van Poppel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) gaining an additional five points as the first rider across the intermediate sprint in the lashing rain.

An attack within the final 25 kilometres briefly set Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility), Ethan Hayter (Soudal Quick-Step) and Liam Slock (Lotto Intermarché) at the front of the pack, though their lead didn't last.

It was, in the end, a battle between Lidl-Trek and Decathlon CMA CGM. After a failed attack by Lidl-Trek's Tord Gudmestad and Jonathan Milan, Lund Andresen sprinted to take the stage win in Italy, and his third win of the season.

Isaac del Toro (UAE Emirates XRG) remains the general classification leader.

Results

Tirreno-Adriatico, Stage 3: Cortona > Magliano de' Marsi, 221km

1. Tobias Lund Andersen (Den), Decathlon CMA CGM, in a time of 5:29:22
2. Arnaud de Lie (Bel), Lotto Intermarché, at same time
3. Jasper Philipsen (Bel), Alpecin-Premier Tech, ast
4. Paul Magnier (Fra), Soudal Quick-Step, ast
5. Iván García Cortina (Esp), Movistar, ast
6. Sam Welsford (Aus), Ineos Grenadiers, ast
7. Jonathan Milan (Ita), Lidl-Trek, ast
8. Oded Kogut (Isr), NSN Cycling, ast
9. Madis Mihkels (Est), EF Education-EasyPost, ast
10. Pavel Bittner (Cze), Picnic PostNL, ast

General Classification after stage 3

1. Isaac del Toro (Mex), UAE Team Emirates - XRG in 10:35:22
2. Giulio Pelizzari (Ita), Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, +4s
3. Magnus Sheffield (USA), Ineos Grenadiers, +14
4. Alan Hatherly (RSA), Jayco AlUla, +18
5. Primož Roglič (Slo), Jayco AlUla, +19
6. Antonio Tiberi (Ita), Bahrain-Victorious, +21
7. Matteo Jorgenson (USA), Visma-Lease a Bike, +32
8. Javier Romo (Esp), Movistar, +35
9. Ben Healy (Ire), EF Education-EasyPost, +37
10. Santiago Buitrago (Col), Jayco AlUla, +38

Mathieu van der Poel edged to victory on stage two of Tirreno-Adriatico in San Gimignano after powering away on wet gravel roads.

The Alpecin-Premier Tech rider escaped with Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe) in the closing kilometres, and sprinted to the win in the medieval Tuscan town.

"It was very difficult," Van der Poel said after the race. "The level was incredibly high on the last climb. The rain in the last half hour made it quite tricky, especially. But the team did a fantastic job.

"Julian Alaphilippe went first," he explained. "I wanted to take the lead because I knew there were some tricky corners. Plus, I wanted to make the race as fast as possible."

The sectors of white gravel roads, turned brown by the rain, dictated the late action in Italy, as both Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Thymen Arensman (Ineos Grenadiers) crashed after slipping out.

Van der Poel himself had to unclip to steady himself, using his cyclo-cross skills to stay on the bike.

"The road was quite slippery, so it was very tricky to sprint while standing," Van der Poel said. "I had just saved enough energy to win."

The key move came with just under 6km to go, as Van der Poel powered off the front, followed by Jorgenson, Del Toro and Pellizzari. The latter launched his sprint into the town, before Van der Poel came round him, while Del Toro's charge came too late to challenge for thew win, but he came second.

Behind, the gravel took out other riders, including Thymen Arensman (Ineos Grenadiers), who had previously been second overall on general classification.

As a result of his escape, Del Toro now leads the seven-stage race, with Pellizzari three seconds behind.

"Last year I came close [to winning a stage] a few times, but didn't pull it off, so I'm happy to win a stage again in Tirreno," Van der Poel said.

Results

Tirreno-Adriatico, Stage 2:  Camaiore > San Gimignano, 206km

1. Mathieu van der Poel (Ned), Alpecin-Premier Tech, in 4:53:23
2. Isaac del Toro (Mex), UAE Team Emirates - XRG, at same time
3. Giulio Pelizzari (Ita), Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, a.s.t
4. Tobias Halland Johannessen (Nor), Uno-X Mobility, +15s
5. Andrea Vendrame (Ita), Jayco AlUla, +17
6. Alessandro Pinarello (Ita), NSN Cycling, a.s.t
7. Giulio Ciccone (Ita), Lidl-Trek, a.s.t
8. Andreas Kron (Den), Uno-X Mobility, a.s.t
9. Clement Champoussin, (Fra) XDS Astana, a.s.t
10. Paul Lapeira, (Fra) Decathlon CMA CGM, a.s.t

General Classification after stage 2

1. Isaac del Toro (Mex), UAE Team Emirates - XRG in 5:06:01
2. Giulio Pelizzari (Ita), Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, +3s
3. Magnus Sheffield (USA), Ineos Grenadiers, +13
4. Alan Hatherly (RSA), Jayco AlUla, +17
5. Primož Roglič (Slo), Jayco AlUla, +17
6. Antonio Tiberi (Ita), Bahrain-Victorious, +20
7. Matteo Jorgenson (USA), Visma-Lease a Bike, +31
8. Filippo Ganna (Ita), Ineos Grenadiers, +34
9. Javier Romo (Esp), Movistar, +34
10. Ben Healy (Ire), EF Education-EasyPost, +36

Ethan Hayter (Soudal Quick-Step) was fined by the UCI after apparently raising his middle finger during Monday’s individual time trial at Tirreno-Adriatico.

The British time trial champion was midway through his effort when he raised his finger during the Italian race's opening stage.

The Tirreno race jury revealed on Monday night that Hayter had been fined 500 Swiss Francs (£479 / $644) for "inappropriate behaviour". He was been deducted 25 points in the UCI individual world rankings, setting his early season count of 33 back to eight.

Though the jury didn't explicitly connected the gesture to the penalty, they cited Hayter’s "unsportsmanlike conduct" as the reason for the fine and point deduction.

Despite Hayter raising his finger for a near-imperceptible flash, online speculation has tied it to the fine, which comes under section 8.2 of the UCI's regulations on road racing for "assault, intimidation, insults, threats, improper conduct or behaviour that is indecent or that endangers others". It was not clear what he was swearing at, although there was a camera bike close by. Unfortunately for the 27-year-old, it was captured live on television.

Hayter ultimately finished in eighth place, 32 seconds behind race-winner Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers).

The incident came days after NSN development rider Kiaan Watts was disqualified by the UCI and suspended from his team after punching a rival in the head during Salverda Bouw Ster van Zwolle.

Neither Hayter nor Soudal Quick-Step have issued a public statement regarding the incident.

The second stage of the Tirreno-Adriatico will continue today with a 206km stage to San Gimignano. The predominantly flat race will turn hilly once the climb to Castelnuovo Val di Cecina begins, concluding with a 5.3km gravel finish.

Tirreno-Adriatico
9-15 March
1,166km
Italy

A key preparation race for the Classics and Grand Tours, Tirreno-Adriatico is where riders look to test their form ahead of the major races, with the route often lending itself to a variety of rider types. A prestigious race in its own right, the ‘Race of the Two Seas’ is second only to the Giro d’Italia when it comes to Italian stage races, with both races being organised by RCS Sport.

Though winning this race is far from a guarantee of success later in the season, it is certainly the mark of a strong rider, as Tadej Pogačar, Jonas Vingegaard, Primož Roglič and Simon Yates have all won the general classification here in recent editions. Last year, Juan Ayuso secured the coveted trident trophy and maglia azzurra, as he took the overall victory, but the Spaniard will not be in attendance to defend his title in 2026.

Here’s everything to look out for at this year’s race.

Classics specialists clash ahead of Milan-San Remo

Sandwiched amongst the Spring Classics, Tirreno-Adriatico is often used by many of the top riders as preparation ahead of the major one-day races. This year’s race is no exception, with Mathieu van der Poel, Wout van Aert, Filippo Ganna and Julian Alaphilippe all in attendance as they prepare for the first Monument of the season, with Milan-San Remo less than two weeks away. We can certainly expect to see some of them mixing it up on stages 2 and 4, which should lend themselves to the more versatile riders in the bunch. Ganna won stage one's time trial.

Can Del Toro escape Pogačar’s shadow?

After playing second fiddle to Tadej Pogačar in UAE Team Emirates-XRG’s dominant performance at Strade Bianche on Saturday, Isaac del Toro will be relishing the opportunity of sole leadership at Tirreno-Adriatico this week, as he looks to add another stage race to his win tally after his overall victory at the UAE Tour in February. It will certainly be interesting to see how the Mexican rider fares without the shadow of the World Champion looming over him.

Jorgenson opts against Paris-Nice defence

With Paris-Nice occurring concurrently, Matteo Jorgenson has opted not to defend his overall title at the ‘Race to the Sun’ after winning the previous two editions, as he leads Visma-Lease a Bike at Tirreno-Adriatico in his first stage race of the season. Jonas Vingegaard’s presence at the French stage race may have influenced his decision, as similarly to Del Toro at UAE Team Emirates-XRG, the American rider also has to look for opportunities where he can be the sole leader.

Will the GC contenders have it all their own way?

Without a major summit finish at this year’s edition of Tirreno-Adriatico, it could leave the race open to a wider range of riders to contest the general classification, as some puncheurs may look to challenge the GC specialists on the short uphill finishes. This race has often seen some less conventional GC podiums, with Filippo Ganna and Wout van Aert both finishing second overall in recent editions.

Sprint showdown for the fast men

With the route of Paris-Nice largely absent of opportunities for the sprinters, many of the fast men have come to Tirreno-Adriatico in search of victories. Jasper Philipsen is one such sprinter, as he will look to make the most of having Mathieu van der Poel as his leadout man. The Alpecin-Premier Tech duo will have competition from Lidl-Trek and Jonathan Milan, who has won two stages and the points classification in each of the last two editions of this race.

Paul Magnier, Tobias Lund Andresen and Arnaud De Lie will also be looking to contest the sprints throughout the week, with all of them perhaps having an eye on stage 4, which should favour the more versatile sprinters. Meanwhile, Sam Welsford and Danny van Poppel will be looking to keep their powder dry for the final stage, which features a pan-flat circuit around San Benedetto del Tronto.

Focus on the sterrato

After Strade Bianche on Saturday, the riders will return to the white roads of Tuscany on stage 2 of Tirreno-Adriatico, as they tackle the sterrato on the final climb to the finish at San Gimignano. The terrain will bring the likes of Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert into competition with Isaac del Toro for the stage victory, whilst the many of the other GC contenders will look to limit their losses on the 5km-long gravel section before the final uphill kick in the final kilometre.

With no major summit finish at this year’s race, these short punchy uphill finishes have the potential to be decisive in the overall outcome of the race, meaning that those hoping to contest the general classification will have to stay towards the front and go on the attack in an attempt to gain time on their rivals.

The route

How to watch

All stages of Tirreno-Adriatico will be live on TNT Sports in the UK and Ireland, accessible via a TV package or a Discovery+ subscription. Find out more in our how to watch Tirreno-Adriatico guide.

Last year’s podium

1. Juan Ayuso (Spa) UAE Team Emirates-XRG
2. Filippo Ganna (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers
3. Antonio Tiberi (Ita) Bahrain Victorious

Riders to watch

Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) *****

With a full team behind him and a route that suits his punchy characteristics, Isaac del Toro is the clear favourite going into this year’s edition of Tirreno-Adriatico. The 22-year-old has already finished fourth overall at this race in his neo-pro season in 2024 and has gone from strength to strength since that point. After the time trial on the opening stage, his focus will predominantly be on the uphill finishes on stages 2, 5 and 6, where the young Mexican rider will inevitably look to gain time on the rest of the GC contenders.

Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) ****

Making his season debut at Tirreno-Adriatico is Primož Roglič, who will be looking to rediscover his stage racing form, following a difficult end to last season after he crashed at the Giro d’Italia, which ultimately forced him to abandon the race. Having won this race overall twice previously, it is clearly one that the Slovenian rider enjoys riding and the punchy uphill finishes should suit him well. He will be alongside Giulio Pellizzari and Jai Hindley as part of a strong and versatile Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe squad.

Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain Victorious) ***

A strong start to the season for Antonio Tiberi saw him finish fourth overall at the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana and runner-up behind Isaac del Toro on the general classification at the UAE Tour. The Italian rider will therefore be looking to continue his strong run of form on home soil at Tirreno-Adriatico, where he finished third overall last year. Though he would have probably preferred a more challenging summit finish on one of the stages, the route is far from unsuited to his characteristics.

Thymen Arensman (Ineos Grenadiers) ***

Despite Filippo Ganna’s incredible ride to finish second overall at last year’s race, it is likely that we will see Thymen Arensman lead Ineos Grenadiers at Tirreno-Adriatico. He is another rider that would have probably preferred a long summit finish to really make a difference in the general classification, but his strong credentials against the clock means that the opening time trial will certainly favour him. The Dutchman also tends to fare well on the steeper climbs, so expect to see him up towards the front on the harsh gradients in the final kilometres of stages 5 and 6.

Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike) ***

Having won the last two editions of Paris-Nice, it was perhaps a slight surprise to see Matteo Jorgenson’s name on the start list for Tirreno-Adriatico, as he rides his first stage race of the season after some strong performances in one-day races already this year. With Wout van Aert alongside him for Visma-Lease a Bike, he will certainly be well-supported throughout the week, but whether he will have the punch to challenge the likes of Del Toro on some of the uphill finishes is less of a certainty.

Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) ***

After his incredible season in 2025, where he finished ninth overall at the Tour de France, Ben Healy will definitely be a rider to watch out for in stage races this season. Few races will suit him as well as this year’s edition of Tirreno-Adriatico, as the absence of any major summit finishes will certainly be an advantage for the Irishman, with the punchy finales likely to suit his characteristics perfectly.

Filippo Ganna cruised to victory on stage one's time trial at Tirreno-Adriatico, taking his fourth TT victory at the race on Monday.

The Italian Ineos Grenadiers rider was the favourite at Lido di Camaiore, and proved worth his status.

Ganna’s teammate and GC option, Thymen Arensman finished 22 seconds after, himself separated by just four seconds from Max Walscheid (Lidl-Trek).

But it was the race favourite, Ganna who took first place in a show of unparalleled strength, effortlessly overtaking his minute man Alessandro Covi (Jayco AlUla) during an 11.5km time trial that he completed at an average speed of 56.2 km/h.

The race looked to be won as soon as the Italian passed the intermediate split with the fastest time, smashing his teammates benchmark, arriving to the finish line to the sound of fans beating their hands on the fences.

"I'm very happy," Ganna said. "I don't want to push the legs too much when my big goals of this part of the year [the Classics] are still in a few weeks time.

"At the moment, I'm really happy, the shape is good," he continued. "My feelings weren't the best, but Thymen and Magnus did amazingly well, too. It was great for the team."

The time trial was relatively untechnical, featuring two straight sectors linked by a U-turn at Marina di Pietrasanta. The flat-out track was interrupted by an S-bend in the final kilometre.

British national champion, Ethan Hayter (Soudal Quick-Step), finished in eighth, 32 seconds off Ganna’s time.

Among the other GC contenders making up the top ten were Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe), who took seventh place, while Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech) laid down a more relaxed run in preparation for the upcoming road stages.

As the first-stage winner, Ganna will wear the first blue jersey of the 2026 edition. The race awaiting him tomorrow is, for just over half of its 260 kilometre course, totally flat. But once the climb to Castelnuovo Val di Cecina begins, the course remains hilly until its 5.3km gravel conclusion.

Of the challenge awaiting him, Ganna said: "For sure, I don't want to lose the leader's jersey, I'll fight for it and maybe try to win another stage. But it's not easy, so I'll support the team as well and see what I can do."

Results

Tirreno-Adriatico, Stage 1: Lido di Camaiore  >  Lido di Camaiore, 11.5km

1. Filippo Ganna (Ita), Ineos Grenadiers, in 12:08
2. Thymen Arensman (Ned), Ineos Grenadiers, +22s
3. Max Walscheid (Ger), Lidl-Trek, +26s
4. Magnus Sheffield (USA), Ineos Grenadiers, +26s
5. Jonathan Milan (Ita), Lidl-Trek, +29s
6. Alan Hatherly (RSA), Jayco AlUla, +30s
7. Primož Roglič (Slo), Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, +31s
8. Ethan Hayter (GBr), Soudal Quick-Step, +32s
9. Antonio Tiberi (Ita), Bahrain Victorious, +33s
10. Isaac del Toro (Ita), UAE Team Emirates-XRG, +36s

General classification after stage 1

1. Filippo Ganna (Ita), Ineos Grenadiers, in 12:08
2. Thymen Arensman (Ned), Ineos Grenadiers, +22s
3. Max Walscheid (Ger), Lidl-Trek, +26s
4. Magnus Sheffield (USA), Ineos Grenadiers, +26s
5. Jonathan Milan (Ita), Lidl-Trek, +29s
6. Alan Hatherly (RSA), Jayco AlUla, +30s
7. Primož Roglič (Slo), Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, +31s
8. Ethan Hayter (GBr), Soudal Quick-Step, +32s
9. Antonio Tiberi (Ita), Bahrain Victorious, +33s
10. Isaac del Toro (Ita), UAE Team Emirates-XRG, +36s

Tirreno-Adriatico, also known as the 'Race of the Two Seas', is one of the first key stage races on the men's WorldTour calendar. It runs over seven days from March 9 to March 15, and will feature 15,550 metres of climbing, up 950 metres on last year's edition. The action starts at 11:40pm GMT on Monday.

Below, Cycling Weekly has laid out all the key information on broadcasters and live streams so you can watch Tirreno-Adriatico 2026 online and potentially for free – from anywhere.

For the 2026 and 61st edition, the 'La Corsa dei Due Mari' follows its traditional race route that crosses Italy from the Tyrrhenian coast to the Adriatic coast. It not only provides breathtaking scenery, but for the winner, the prize of what is considered the coolest trophy in cycling – the Sea Master Trophy is the ultimate goal at the end of the seven stages and 1,165.5km of racing.

How to watch Tirreno-Adriatico 2026 online

• FREE STREAMS: SBS (AUS), FranceTV (FRA), Sporza (BEL)
• UK: TNT Sports / Discovery+ (£30.99/month)
• US: Max or Max via Amazon Prime($18.49/month)
• Canada: Flobikes
• Watch your free stream from anywhere – try NordVPN (74% off)

What to expect at Tirreno-Adriatico 2026

With a star-studded line-up including Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech), Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike), and Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor PRT), Tirreno-Adriatico seriously rivals Paris-Nice (on at the same time) for your choice of live cycling viewing.

As teams are split across both events, it's also a great opportunity for an early-season GC win, and for the big names to lay down a marker for the Grand Tours, which begin in early May with the Giro d'Italia.

The seven-day route features a mix of flat sprinter stages, hilly, and mountainous terrain. Highlights include a sharp 15% kick to the line in San Gimignano on Stage 2 and a challenging hilly 29.1km circuit in Camerino on Stage 6, which will test the legs of the field.

Last year's edition was won by Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), who pipped home rider Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) for the GC victory. However, Ayuso will not defend his title as he will be on the start line at Paris-Nice for his new team, Lidl-Trek.

The start list for Tirreno-Adriatico is a who's who of WorldTour cycling and includes past Grand Tour winners, including Primoz Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), Jai Hindley (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), and Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost).

Elsewhere, the rising talents of Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates), last year's Paris-Nice winner Matteo Jorgenson (Visma-Lease a Bike), and Tirreno-Adriatico 2025 runner-up Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) will all be challenging for the overall GC win.

Can I watch Tirreno-Adriatico 2026 for free?

Yes. Fans in Australia, Italy, France, Spain and Belgium can watch the 2026 Tirreno-Adriatico for free thanks to broadcasters in their regions.

In Australia, the race will be shown on TV and online by SBS, the country's public service broadcaster.

Viewers in the host country of Italy can watch Tirreno-Adriatico for free on RAI.

In France, fans can watch on the public broadcaster France Télévisions, with streaming on their FranceTV platform.

In Belgium, Flemish-speakers can watch on Sporza's website or on RTBF's streaming platform, Auvio. Fans in Spain can also watch with RTVE.

Coverage is geo-restricted, so if you're not in any of these countries right now, and these channels are your usual port of call, you'll need a strong VPN to get your usual free cycling streams while abroad – more on that below.

How to watch Tirreno-Adriatico 2026 while abroad

If you're outside your usual country while Tirreno-Adriatico is on, you may think you'd struggle to watch the race due to geo-restrictions in place for different viewing regions. But a VPN is a simple and safe way around this.

A Virtual Private Network is a piece of software that sets your IP address to make your device appear to be in any country in the world. Provided it complies with your broadcaster’s T&Cs, you can use a VPN to access your usual streaming services when you're far from home. What's more, it helps with playback speeds and is a huge boost for your general internet security.

There are loads of great VPN options out there, but our colleagues at TechRadar rate NordVPN as the best overall for its streaming capabilities, security features, and price. NordVPN is also offering a sign-up bonus of an exclusive Amazon gift card, worth up to $50.

Want to know more about VPNs? We have an explainer on the benefits, costs, and considerations of using a VPN...
– Should I use a VPN to watch cycling?

Have a read and see if you fancy giving one a go. Beware: not all VPNs work for streaming, so it's worth going for a trusted recommendation. We use NordVPN and find it to be fastest and most reliable option.

How to watch Tirreno-Adriatico 2026 in the UK

In the UK, the race will be shown on TNT Sports and also streamed on Discovery+, with a package now priced at £30.99 a month.

How to watch Tirreno-Adriatico 2026 in the US and Canada

For viewers in the US, this year's coverage of Tirreno-Adriatico is on Max.

Plans start at $10.99 a month but you'll need the plan with live sports, which is $18.49 a month or $184.99 a year (paying upfront saves you $36).

If you're an Amazon Prime member, it's easiest to sign up to HBO Max via Amazon Prime – pricing is the same.

You can also access Max via North America's YouTube TV streaming service, which comes with a free trial.

In Canada, Flobikes offers Tirreno-Adriatico live streams. Subscriptions cost CA$39.99 a month, with big savings for long-term plans.

We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.

Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates XRG) secured the second GC victory of his career on Sunday, wrapping up the overall at the seven-day Tirreno-Adriatico.

The final stage was won by Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) in a sprint finish in San Benedetto del Tronto, where the race closed on Italy’s Adriatic coast.

The victory brought Milan's fifth of the season, cementing his status as one of the peloton's fastest finishers. Ayuso, too, has enjoyed a strong start to the year, having won the Faun Drome Classic and Trofeo Laigueglia before coming to Tirreno-Adriatico, where he took the GC lead with a resounding victory on Saturday’s queen stage.

He took a 37-second buffer into the final day, and finished safe in the bunch, winning the coveted golden trident.

"The trophy, for sure, is the coolest, and the nicest one I have. It's going to have a special place at home," Ayuso smiled afterwards.

"I think we can probably say it's my biggest victory, this one as well with País Vasco [Itzulia Basque Country], but here I also won a stage, so I think it's the best performance I've done until now."

The UAE Team Emirates XRG rider's big ambition this season will be the Giro d'Italia, where he will set out to defend his teammate Tadej Pogačar's title.

"The Giro's a big goal," Ayuso said, "but it's three weeks. It's a different story, it's a different kind of race. This race is really hard to win, and the Giro is another step. We'll take it day by day, and race by race, first we have [Volta a] Catalunya."

Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) placed second overall at Tirreno-Adriatico, 35 seconds behind Ayuso, and just one second ahead of Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain Victorious), who completed the podium.

How it happened

With five laps of a fast finishing circuit scheduled, the peloton eased into the first half of the final stage of Tirreno-Adriatico. Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) opened up a small gap to the peloton at one point, but the bunch regrouped over the climb of Ripatransone, the day’s only vertical challenge with 90km to go.

Two uneventful laps in San Benedetto del Tronto followed, before a bonus-second sprint spiced up proceedings.

Aided by his Italian compatriot Milan, Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) darted out of the pack to take all three seconds – a small sum, but a significant amount, as it saw him leapfrog Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain Victorious) in the overall standings, and reclaim second place.

Save for a short-lived attack by Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost), no breakaway dared to wriggle free ahead of the flat finale.

The speed at the front of the race nudged over 60km/h into the final few kilometres, before a sequence of right-hand bends took the sting out of the bunch. Jayco AlUla tried to lead under the flamme rouge for Dylan Groenewegen, but once again it was Lidl-Trek who took up the charge, towing Milan to the line.

The Italian, known for his 2,000-watt max power, was the first to launch his sprint, doing so with 200m to go. With his tongue wagging in his mouth, Milan kicked on to claim his second stage win of this year’s edition.

“I’m super-happy about this victory here in Tirreno,” he said afterwards. “I have to say that I suffered a bit, but I made it to the finish line.”

Unbeknown to the tearaway winner, there was a small pile-up in the sprint for the top 10, as Soudal Quick-Step’s 20-year-old sprint hope Paul Magnier crashed and slid across the asphalt. It was the second time the Frenchman had come off his bike on the day, and he crossed the line in tears.

“I hope no one is hurt really bad,” Milan said.

Results

Tirreno-Adriatico 2025, stage seven: Porto Potenza Picena > San Benedetto del Tronto (147km)

1. Jonathan Milan (Ita) Lidl-Trek, in 3:08:08
2. Sam Bennett (Irl) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale
3. Olav Kooij (Ned) Visma-Lease a Bike
4. Jake Stewart (GBr) Israel-Premier Tech
5. Paul Penhoët (Fra) Groupama-FD
6. Giovanni Lonardi (Ita) Polti VisitMalta
7. Maikel Zijlaard (Ned) Tudor Pro Cycling
8. Natnael Tesfatsion (Eri) Movistar
9. Casper van Uden (Ned) Picnic PostNL
10. Clément Venturini (Fra) Arkéa-B&B Hotels

Final general classification

1. Juan Ayuso (Spa) UAE Team Emirates-XRG in 28:41:24
2. Filippo Ganna (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers, +35s
3. Antonio Tiberi (Ita) Bahrain Victorious +36s
4. Derek Gee (Can) Israel-Premier Tech +42s
5. Jai Hindley (Aus) Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe, +53s
6. Tom Pidcock (GB) Q36.5 Pro Cycling, +56s
7. Mikel Landa (Spa) Soudal Quick-Step, +1:05
8. David De La Cruz (Spa) Q36.5 +1:32
9. Pello Bilbao (Spa) Bahrain Victorious, +1:32
10. Mattia Cattaneo (Ita) Soudal Quick-Step, +1:38

Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) continued his perfect stage race record this season, sealing the overall victory at Tirreno-Adriatico on Sunday afternoon. 

The two-time Tour de France winner, who successfully defended his O Gran Camiño title last month, finished comfortably within the peloton on stage seven in San Benedetto del Tronto to secure the blue leader's jersey. 

Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) won the flat final stage in a bunch sprint, doubling up on victories at the race.

With little climbing on the menu, Vingegaard's overall race win seemed a foregone conclusion before the rollout. The Dane entered the final day following back-to-back victories on stages five and six, which gave him an advantage of one minute and 24 seconds that proved unassailable.

The final podium, and indeed the entire top 10, remained unchanged from stage six, with Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) and Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe) in second and third respectively.

"It's one of the biggest victories I've had, for sure," Vingegaard said afterwards. "I'm very, very happy to have taken the overall victory here, as well as two stages. It's a very big victory for me, and I will enjoy it, for sure."

Sunday’s stage at Tirreno-Adriatico was raced at an average speed of 47.179km/h, a new record in the event’s 59-year history. 

A six-rider breakaway characterised the lion's share of the stage, containing notably Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) and birthday boy Luke Rowe (Ineos Grenadiers). The group’s foray lasted until inside 15km to go, when, on the finishing circuit in San Benedetto del Tronto, they were caught by the sprint teams. 

Uno-X, riding for Alexander Kristoff, led through two dicey turns in the final 3km, before sending Søren Wærenskjold on a flier down the finishing straight. 

Milan instinctively took up the chase, before waiting for his teammate Simone Consonni, who towed him back into contention to sprint for victory. “Simone did a fantastic lead-out for me,” Milan said afterwards. “Like the last one, it’s super special. It was a hard and tough day, with a super hard pace.

"In the beginning, we knew it would be really hard. We wanted to do a nice pace, just to not leave a big gap for the break. In the front, there were super strong riders, so we had to push a lot in the beginning. In the end, with such a high speed, [the bunch sprint] is coming." 

Vingegaard's overall victory brought further joy to Visma-Lease a Bike, who won Paris-Nice earlier in the day through Matteo Jorgenson. 

Results

Tirreno-Adriatico 2024, stage seven: San Benedetto del Tronto > San Benedetto del Tronto (154km)

1. Jonathan Milan (Ita) Lidl-Trek, in 3-15-51
2. Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Uno-X
3. Davide Cimolai (Ita) Movistar
4. Jasper Philipsen (Bel) Alpecin-Deceuninck
5. Stanisław Aniołkowski (Pol) Cofidis
6. Amaury Capiot (Bel) Arkéa - B&B Hotels
7. Andrea Vendrame (Ita) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale
8. Giovanni Lonardi (Ita) Polti Kometa
9. Clément Venturini (Fra) Arkéa - B&B Hotels
10. Enrico Zanoncello (Ita) VF Group - Bardiani CSF - Faizanè, all at same time

Final general classification

1. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Visma-Lease a Bike, in 26-22-23
2. Juan Ayuso (Esp) UAE Team Emirates, +1-24
3. Jai Hindley (Aus) Bora-Hansgrohe, +1-52
4. Isaac Del Toro (Mex) UAE Team Emirates, +2-20
5. Ben O'Connor (Aus) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, +2-24
6. Thymen Arensman (Ned) Ineos Grenadiers, +2-25
7. Cian Uijtdebroeks (Bel) Visma-Lease a Bike, +3-10
8. Lennard Kämna (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe, +4-02
9. Tom Pidcock (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers, +4-05
10. Kévin Vauquelin (Fra) Arkéa - B&B Hôtels, +4-24

Lidl-Trek sprinter Jonathan Milan dashed to victory in a tough uphill finale on stage four of Tirreno-Adriatico.

Stomping through a big gear, and still seated in the saddle, the Italian beat Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) on the bike throw, with Corbin Strong (Israel-Premier Tech) finishing third. The sprinters spoiled the parade of Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X), who almost lasted to the line as the only remnant of the day's early breakaway. 

Milan now leads the Italian stage race, taking the blue jersey from Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates), thanks to bonus seconds gained. 

"That was close," the 23-year-old smiled afterwards. "What a day. I think I just have to say thanks to my teammates. I think they did such an amazing job. 

"I had a not quite easy day. I had a puncture on the climb and it was tough to get back to the peloton. The guys supported me really in the best way they could do it. They pushed until the final. They were incredible." 

Having finished third in the opening time trial, Milan went on to place second on stage three, the top step seeming to allude him. His victory in Giulianova marked his second of the season, after he opened his tally at the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana last month. 

"We came here with a goal to bring some good results, with me, with the team," he explained. "This morning I wanted this victory so much. We did it all together. It’s not just my victory, it’s a team victory." 

After Wednesday’s 225km slog, stage four brought back-to-back days over 200km, and was set up as another opportunity for the sprinters. 

Early on, a six-rider breakaway formed, gaining over four minutes at one point, and threatening to foil the fastmen's chances. The route from Arrone to Giulianova was an undulating one, and with 13km to go, Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step) lost contact with the bunch on a short rise in the road. 

Thanks to a steep drag into the finale, the last of the escapees survived longer than expected. Abrahamsen dug deep under the flamme rouge, and rounded a bend at 500m to go solo, with the peloton bearing down on him. 

Tom Pidcock took up the charge, but the move would not be fruitful for his Ineos Grenadiers team. From behind, Milan muscled his way between Philipsen and Strong, holding them both off, and punching the air in victory across the line.

Results

Tirreno Adriatico 2024, stage four: Arrone > Giulianova (207km)

1. Jonathan Milan (Ita) Lidl-Trek, in 4-56-44
2. Jasper Philipsen (Bel) Alpecin-Deceuninck
3. Corbin Strong (NZl) Israel-Premier Tech
4. Biniam Girmay (Eri) Intermarché-Wanty
5. Axel Zingle (Fra) Cofidis)
6. Marius Mayrhofer (Ger), Tudor Pro Cycling
7. Jonas Abrahamsen (Nor), Uno-X
8. Iván García Cortina (Esp), Movistar
9. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra), Soudal Quick-Step
10. Antonio Tiberi (Ita), Bahrain-Victorious, all at same time

General classification after stage four

1. Jonathan Milan (Ita) Lidl-Trek, in 15-06-02
2. Juan Ayuso (Esp) UAE Team Emirates, +4s
3. Kévin Vaquelin (Fra) Arkéa-B&B Hotels, +18s
4. Antonio Tiberi (Ita) Bahrain-Victorious, +21s
5. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Visma-Lease a Bike, +26s
6. Roman Grégoire (Fra) Groupama-FDJ, s.t.
7. Jai Hindley (Aus) Bora-Hansgrohe, +28s
8. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-EasyPost, +30s
9. Max Poole (GBr) dsm-firmenich PostNL
10. Lennard Kämna (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe, both at s.t.

Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) opened his season tally on Tuesday afternoon, sprinting to victory on stage two of Tirreno-Adriatico. 

The Belgian was one of the first riders through a sharp right-hand turn with 300m to go. He opened up his sprint shortly after, and won by a comfortable margin in Follonica ahead of Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step) and Axel Zingle (Cofidis). 

Philipsen's victory came on only his fourth race day of 2024, one day earlier than he managed last season, when he went on to collect an astonishing 19 victories and the Tour de France green jersey. 

"This time I'm really happy we could finish it off already today," the 26-year-old said afterwards. "It was, as always, really hectic in the final.

"I felt [Merlier] coming in the last corner and I knew I had to go and try to take his wheel. I had some shifting problems, so I was happy I could find the right gear and launch my sprint at the right moment." 

This season, Philipsen is targeting a strong showing in the Spring Classics, having finished second at Paris-Roubaix last year. 

"In general, sprinting is my talent," he said. "It's what I'm good at. The Classics, I have to work hard for to do a good job. It was a good chance today, and there are still some nice chances coming this week. We'll try to take the wins. For the confidence of the team, it's good to give the team a win." 

Stage two began with a four-rider breakaway, which formed shortly after the flag drop in Camaiore. The most decorated among the escapees was Polti-Kometa’s Davide Bais, winner of a Giro d’Italia stage last year, who secured the king of the mountains jersey for stage three. 

With 63km to go, Bais’s breakaway companion Jan Stöckli (Corratec - Vini Fantini) shot out of the quartet. The Swiss rider swept up the intermediate sprint points and went solo up the road, before the peloton came back together with 37km remaining. 

The bunch's speed barely dropped below 50km/h heading into the finale in Follonica. The pace proved too much for Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazqstan), who struggled to rejoin the pack after a puncture with 18km to go. 

Soudal Quick-Step and Uno-X led through a nerve-racking 90-degree bend with 300m to go, but Philipsen soon surged clear down the home straight. The Belgian, clad in denim print, had time to sit up and celebrate before crossing the line, such was the dominance of his sprint. 

Juan Ayuso, winner of the time trial on stage one, continues to lead the race. 

RESULTS: TIRRENO-ADRIATICO STAGE TWO, CAMAIORE > FOLLONICA (198KM)

1. Jasper Philipsen (Bel) Alpecin-Deceuninck, in 4-32-07
2. Tim Merlier (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step
3. Axel Zingle (Fra) Cofidis
4. Amaury Capiot (Bel) Arkéa - B&B Hotels
5. Casper van Uden (Ned) dsm-firmenich PostNL
6. Søren Wærenskjold (Nor) Uno-X
7. Giovanni Lonardi (Ita) Polti Kometa
8. Ethan Vernon (GBr) Israel-Premier Tech
9. Jonathan Milan (Ita) Lidl-Trek
10. Fabian Lienhard (Sui) Groupama-FDJ, all at same time

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION AFTER STAGE TWO

1. Juan Ayuso (Esp) UAE Team Emirates, in 4-43-31
2. Filippo Ganna (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers, +1sec
3. Jonathan Milan (Ita) Lidl-Trek, +12secs
4. Ethan Vernon (GBr) Israel-Premier Tech, +13secs
5. Søren Wærenskjold (Nor) Uno-X, +15secs
6. Antonio Tiberi (Ita) Bahrain-Victorious, +17secs
8. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Visma-Lease a Bike, +22secs
9. Roman Grégoire (Fra) Groupama-FDJ, at same time
10. Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) Q36.5 Pro Cycling, +23secs

Good morning, and welcome back to The Leadout. I hope you’re well and as excited as I am by the return of proper racing. I watched Strade Bianche with my friends at the weekend, and while both races were won by their respective favourites, it was good to see the best riders in the world going up against each other again. I can’t wait for Flanders, now. As always, if you want to get in touch, let me know what race you’re most looking forward to this spring, I’m adam.becket@futurenet.com.

The year is 2024 and we live in a world where Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico are still run concurrently. There are two WorldTour stage races, of more or less equal importance, on at the same time, in two bordering European countries. 11 years ago, there was talk and hope of the pair being given different slots in the season, but that appears to be a long-lost dream now, with the pair seemingly inseparable.

As it is, we all do the same dance every year, switching between the two depending on what the most interesting looking stage is, and getting confused all the while. Is Jonas Vingegaard at Paris-Nice or Tirreno? Is that Mark Cavendish, I didn’t know he was here? Wait, are Lotto Dstny not riding this race? It goes on.

Of course, Paris-Nice and Tirreno are not the only races to clash, but they are the only WorldTour races to overlap by more than a day or two.

Both races have their merits, although they are largely similar: Paris-Nice being an eight-day affair with punchy stages, time trials, sprints, and proper climbing thrown in; Tirreno-Adriatico, meanwhile, is a seven-day race with proper climbing, time trials, sprints and punchy stages thrown in. 

That feels glib, and both are actually great entertainment, especially in the early season, as narratives start to bubble. However, those narratives are affected by both WorldTour races running at the same time, and effectively splitting the field. We can’t know how old teammates Primož Roglič and Vingegaard will match up, because the former is in France, while the latter is in Italy. The same with sprint rivals, like Tim Merlier and Fabio Jakobsen, or Classics stars like Mads Pedersen and Julian Alaphilippe. They’re at different races, with different fields, so it’s hard to measure anything up.

When explaining the cycling season to a non-obsessive, like I’m sure many of us are, it’s easy to sketch it out as a building up to a peak, normally either the Classics or the Tour de France. Where does Paris-Nice and Tirreno clashing fit into this? It’s hard to define. This one is the top race at this time of the year, but so is the other one. It doesn’t really make sense.

Splitting the WorldTour peloton like this just feels mad, and also makes for slightly devalued racing on either side of the Alps. There is history to thank for their concurrent running - both are key to the Classics build up and Tirreno used to be the stage race for Italians, while Paris-Nice was there for French riders - but bike racing is a bit more international these days. And their dates  don’t need to be set in stone.

The solution to this is to give the races different slots in the calendar, a solution which feels reasonably simple to do, given next week is empty of WorldTour racing until Milan-San Remo on the Saturday. It would require a shifting round of programmes and schedules, sure, especially as much of the Tirreno peloton are riders who have stuck around after Strade Bianche, but sometimes things need to change.

Meanwhile, we will continue to channel surf between the two races, hoping to catch the best of the action and work out some kind of narrative. Well, I won’t, I’ll be watching Paris-Nice, because I prefer it. Just don’t tell the Italians.

This piece is part of The Leadout, the offering of newsletters from Cycling Weekly and Cyclingnews. To get this in your inbox, subscribe here.

If you want to get in touch with Adam, email adam.becket@futurenet.com.

Once Strade Bianche on Saturday has been and gone, the men’s WorldTour season rolls on with Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico getting underway, on Sunday and Monday respectively.

The provisional start lists for both week long stage races are littered with an array of cycling’s biggest stars and should be quite the spectacle. Remco Evenepoel will continue his preparations for his Tour de France debut at Paris-Nice where he will face off against Primož Roglič. 

Meanwhile, Jonas Vingegaard will be looking to carry on his hugely successful start to his  new campaign at Tirreno-Adriatico. The defending two-time Tour champion opted to ride Paris-Nice last year where he finished third, but is going to Italy this time. He will return to Tirreno for the first time since 2022 in which he finished second to Tadej Pogačar. 

Away from the general classification action, both races should see plenty of aggressive racing from stars including Ben Healy, Tom Pidcock and Mads Pedersen. The sprinters will also get their moment in the limelight on the flatter stages too. 

Here are seven things to look out for once the racing gets started. 

Primož Roglič’s Bora-Hansgrohe debut 

All eyes will be on Primož Roglič this weekend as he gets set to make his Bora-Hansgrohe debut after making the move from Visma-Lease a Bike at the end of last season. 

Roglič has forged a solid reputation as being one of the very best stage racers. As well as winning the Giro d’Italia last year, the Slovenian won every week-long race he entered, winning 10 of the last 13 he has entered, in fact.

It will be intriguing to see how he approaches Paris-Nice with his new teammates. Will he look to take the race on and ignite it or simply get his legs going, and ominously tick over in the background? You would be best placed putting your money on the former. 

There is plenty of firepower in the provisional Bora squad for next week. Backed up by the likes of Aleksandr Vlasov and Bob Jungels, Roglič won’t be short of support as he locks horns with Remco Evenepoel and looks to land his first trophy in his new team's colours. 

Tao Geoghegan Hart continuing comeback 

Geoghegan Hart made his long awaited return to action after injury at the recent Volta ao Algarve, which was also his debut for Lidl-Trek. 

The Londoner fractured his femur in a crash at last year’s Giro which left him side-lined for months prior to his off season transfer to his new team. There were no expectations on his shoulders when he returned to action in Portugal, but he finished seventh on the race's two key mountain stages. 

It was an impressive return given his long layoff and one which he will have been more than happy with. Geoghegan Hart is set to lead the line for his new team at the Tour de France this summer, alongside Mads Pedersen, so Tirreno is another step on the way there.

After a long absence from competition, it’s difficult to predict how comeback races will pan out for a rider but based on his performance in the Algarve, it’s like he was never away at all. 

Explosive racing from Jonas Vingegaard

While everyone was tuned in to Opening Weekend, Jonas Vingegaard was busy getting his season underway at the relatively new Spanish stage race, O Gran Camino. With the four stages out of the way, the consensus is that Vingegaard looks very, very good indeed. 

The defending Tour de France champion completely obliterated all competition to win the general classification, and three stages along the way. It was the second year in a row that he’d pulled this off. 

What was particularly notable was his willingness to take the race on, and ignite the action earlier on in stages than we are perhaps used to seeing. There were early attacks to test rivals legs, pushing away from the main field before sitting up and coming back into the fold. That’s the type of behaviour that you would expect from his rival, Tadej Pogačar, more so than the Dane. 

If Vingegaard looks to continue that attacking style at Tirreno-Adriatico next week, then we could be in for a gripping week of racing from the word go. 

Josh Tarling looking to hit out for Ineos Grenadiers

Josh Tarling is gradually becoming one of the most talked about riders in the sport, despite being just 19-years-old, down to his top time trialling. 

Hailing from Aberaeron in west Wales, the Ineos Grenadiers rider is already one of the best time trialists currently riding in the WorldTour and will only get better. Last summer, Tarling took the bronze medal at the World Championships behind Remco Evenepoel and Ineos teammate Filippo Ganna. He then went on to win the European time trial title just a few months later. His unbeaten streak in ITTs currently stands at four, with Chrono des Nations, one at the Renewi Tour, and the opening stage of O Gran Camiño thrown in.

Paris-Nice lacks an individual time trial this year, but stage three is a team time trial in Auxerre, which he could well help his team out in, despite its hilly profile. Tarling is also looking to claim a road race at some point this season, and where better than in a long range attack on a stage of Paris-Nice?

In other British interests, Tom Pidcock will be one to watch on the punchier days at Tirreno.

Remco Evenepoel's next move

Evenepoel has started the new season with a bang after coming out of a block of racing in Portugal with GC victory to his name at the Volta ao Algarve as well as a win at the Figueira Champions Classic. 

In the Algarve, he demonstrated that he was in fine time trial form, landing a first victory in the rainbow bands as time trial world champion. 

However, Paris-Nice will provide a much sterner test than what Evenepoel faced in Portugal, especially with Primož Roglič present.

Roglič got the better of Evenepoel at the Volta a Catalunya early on last year but, after such a strong start, Evenepoel will be keen to continue the momentum as he builds towards July and a Tour de France.

Will Mads Pedersen continue his sparkling early season form?

So far in 2024, Mads Pedersen’s form book reads two stage races, two overall victories, and four stage wins. The former World Champion completely steamrolled any form of competition at both the Tour de la Provence and Etoile de Bessèges to get his season going with a bang. 

Alongside Mattias Skjelmose, Pedersen will be one of Lidl-Trek’s leaders at Paris-Nice and, judging by his current form, will be a solid bet for a stage win somewhere along the way. He has won stages at Paris-Nice before, including stage two last year, and knows what it takes to outfox the sprinters or win from a breakaway on hillier terrain. 

With the Classics hotting up in the weeks ahead, it will be interesting to see if Pedersen’s hot streak continues in the coming days. 

Ben Healy on the attack

Ben Healy will line up in Italy once again after lighting it up at the Giro d’Italia last year. 

The EF Education-EasyPost rider was regularly on the attack at the Italian Grand Tour and was rewarded with a stage win for his efforts on stage eight. He very nearly landed a second too, and some of the terrain at Tirreno looks perfect for him.

Healy is explosive, punchy and aggressive and always looking to get up the road in pursuit of breakaway opportunities. 

EF are also expected to take Richard Carapaz to Italy in search of GC opportunities. When not working for the Ecuadorian, Healy will hopefully be let off the leash as he should flourish on some of the hillier stages at Tirreno.

While half the pro peloton are getting their European stage racing season underway on the other side of the Alps at Paris-Nice, the other half will be racing from sea to sea at Tirreno-Adriatico.

The Italian WorldTour race is younger than its French counterpart, in its 59th edition, but no less important, offering the biggest test of the season so far to many of the biggest names of the peloton.

Its space between Strade Bianche and Milan-Sanremo means that it shares many of the same riders, with a few more general classification hopefuls thrown in for good measure.

Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike) will get his WorldTour season underway at Tirreno, following his dominant performance at O Gran Camiño just over a week previously. The Dane will be very much looking forward to the two hors categorie climbs included on the route.

Other GC riders looking to get their European season's off with a bang include previous winner Simon Yates (Jayco AlUla), and his twin brother Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates), should the latter get over the crash and concussion he suffered at the UAE Tour. 

Ben O'Connor (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) will attempt to continue the form he showed in the Middle East, while Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe) will have an opportunity to ride for himself in the absence of his team's new flagship signing, Primož Roglič. 

Tao Geoghegan Hart (Lidl-Trek) will ride his first WorldTour race since his crash at the Giro d'Italia last May.

The absence of Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike), Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) and Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) should open up the punchy stages to other Classics riders. 

Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers), Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty) and Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) will be among those hoping to make the most of days like stages three and four, where the route is consistently lumpy without getting too mountainous.

There are sprinters on the provisional start list, good ones too, in Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan), Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step). The latter already has three WorldTour sprint wins to his name this season, but will likely only get two opportunities.

Paris-Nice 2024 key information

Date: Monday, 4 March - Sunday, 10 March
Location: Italy
Start: 09:00 GMT
End: 13:00 GMT
2023 winner: Primož Roglič
TV: Discovery+/Eurosport

Tirreno-Adriatico 2024 stages

Tirreno-Adriatico 2024 route

The route consists of seven stages: a completely flat 10km individual time trial, followed by a likely sprint finish, two days for the Classics riders or the breakaway, two days for the climbers, and a nailed on sprint finish.

The riders will pass through four regions of Central Italy, from Tuscany to the Marche.

Stages three and six are the particular highlights. The former is a 220km test with barely a flat road in sight, the perfect preparation race for an Ardennes Classic. It depends how it is raced by the GC riders, but it could well be a day for Pidcock or Healy.

Stage six has 3544 metres of climbing in 180km, with multiple tests before the final ramp up to Cagli, Monte Petrano. This works out at 10km at 8%, and will surely decide which way the overall victory will head.

Tirreno-Adriatico 2024 riders to watch

Jonas Vingegaard
Visma-Lease a Bike
*****

The Dane comes into Tirreno-Adriatico in seemingly top form, having ripped apart O Gran Camiño last weekend, winning three stages and the overall. He did the same last year and went on to have a mildly disappointing Paris-Nice, so all is not set, but he is the outstanding favourite for the whole event.

Tom Pidcock
Ineos Grenadiers
****

Tirreno-Adriatico seems like a race made for the Ineos Grenadiers man. Pidcock has only raced it once before - last year - but the punchy stages will be the key battlegrounds for the 24-year-old. He will hope to keep building his form towards bigger targets, like Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

Adam Yates
UAE Team Emirates
****

Should he have bounced back from the concussion he suffered at the UAE Tour, Yates should be in the mix for the overall at Tirreno. He is an expert at week-long stage race, and has finished second on GC here before. If he has not recovered, his teammate Juan Ayuso is one to watch.

Jasper Philipsen
Alpecin-Deceuninck
****

The pick of the sprinters at Tirreno, Philipsen is yet to open his account in 2024, although he has hardly been presented with a good opportunity, having raced just Opening Weekend. The six-time Tour de France stage winner will be looking to measure himself up against his former teammate, Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step).

Ben Healy
EF Education-EasyPost
****

The Irish champion begins his third year at WorldTour level with a lot of expecation behind him. His stage win at the Giro d'Italia last year was won on similar terrain to stage three of Tirreno, so look out for him there. His fourth place overall at the Volta ao Algarve shows that he can't be discounted on all but the most mountainous of days.

Ben O'Connor
Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale
****

O'Connor's victory on Jebel Jais was the Australian's first WorldTour victory since March 2022, so he will hope to keep showing his form in Italy. Along with his compatriot Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Dani Martínez (also Bora), he will be looking to match Vingegaard on stage six.

Tirreno-Adriatico 2024 provisional start list

Alpecin-Deceuninck
PHILIPSEN Jasper
CONCI Nicola
VERGALLITO Luca

Arkéa-B&B Hotels
ALBANESE Vincenzo
DELAPLACE Anthony
CAPIOT Amaury
RODRÍGUEZ Cristián
VAUQUELIN Kévin
VENTURINI Clément

Astana Qazaqstan
CAVENDISH Mark
GAROFOLI Gianmarco

Bahrain-Victorious
POELS Wout
BAUHAUS Phil
TIBERI Antonio

Bora-Hansgrohe
ALEOTTI Giovanni
HINDLEY Jai
KÄMNA Lennard
MARTÍNEZ Daniel Felipe

Cofidis
DEBAUMARCHÉ Nicolas
DE GENDT Aimé
ZINGLE Axel

Corratec-Vini Fantini
BONIFAZIO Niccolò
SBARAGLI Kristian

Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale
O'CONNOR Ben
PETERS Nans

EF Education-EasyPost
CARAPAZ Richard
BETTIOL Alberto
HEALY Ben

Groupama-FDJ
GERMANI Lorenzo
GRÉGOIRE Romain
KÜNG Stefan

Ineos Grenadiers
PIDCOCK Thomas
GANNA Filippo
KWIATKOWSKI Michał
PUCCIO Salvatore
SHEFFIELD Magnus 

Intermarché-Wanty
ROTA Lorenzo
HERREGODTS Rune
TEUNISSEN Mike
PAGE Hugo
REX Laurenz
GIRMAY Biniam

Israel-Premier Tech

Lidl-Trek
BAGIOLI Andrea
SKUJIŅŠ Toms
THEUNS Edward
GHEBREIGZABHIER Amanuel
CONSONNI Simone
MILAN Jonathan
GEOGHEGAN HART Tao

Movistar
MAS Enric
GARCÍA CORTINA Iván

Q36.5

Soudal Quick-Step
ALAPHILIPPE Julian
ASGREEN Kasper
MERLIER Tim

dsm-firmenich PostNL
DEGENKOLB John
VAN UDEN Casper

Jayco AlUla
YATES Simon
CRADDOCK Lawson
DE MARCHI Alessandro
WALSCHEID Max
STEWART Campbell
ZANA Filippo
EWAN Caleb
JUUL-JENSEN Christopher

Polti Kometa
PIGANZOLI Davide

Visma-Lease a Bike
TULETT Ben
VALTER Attila
KRUIJSWIJK Steven
GESINK Robert
VAN BAARLE Dylan
UIJTDEBROEKS Cian
VINGEGAARD Jonas 

Tudor Pro Cycling
MAYRHOFER Marius
DAINESE Alberto
KELEMEN Petr

UAE Team Emirates
YATES Adam
HIRSCHI Marc
COVI Alessandro
AYUSO Juan

Uno-X Mobility
LEKNESSUND Andreas
KRISTOFF Alexander
CORT Magnus
WÆRENSKJOLD Søren

VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè

Alpecin-Deceuninck sprinter Jasper Philipsen took his second bunch sprint victory of the week at Tirreno-Adriatico, edging out Jayco-Alula’s Dylan Groenewegen on the final stage in Benedetto del Tronto, with Team DSM’s Alberto Dainese in third place. 

Race leader Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) finished safely in the bunch to secure his second overall success in the Italian stage race, with the podium completed by UAE’s João Almeida and Ineos Grenadier Tao Geoghegan Hart.

The 154km stage divided into two halves, the opening one hilly and the second totally flat. The break formed from the start. Nans Peters (AG2R Citroën), Mikkel Frølich Honoré (EF Education-EasyPost), Lorenzo Fortunato (Eolo-Kometa), Samuele Zoccarato (Green Project-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè), Bruno Armirail (Groupama-FDJ), Henri Vandenabeele (Team DSM), Valentin Ferron (TotalEnergies) and Arthur Kluckers (Tudor) pushed their advantage out to three-and-a-half minutes in the hills, but the peloton began to reel them in steadily during the five laps of the 15km finish circuit.

The capture was made half a dozen kilometres from home, and led to a frantic battle for position over the twisting and tight section into the line. Alpecin came out of this high-speed back and forth in the best position, Mathieu van der Poel at the front of the line, where he set a ferocious pace for Philipsen.

Soudal-QuickStep’s Davide Ballerini took over as the Dutchman pulled aside, only to find that he had Philipsen rather than his own sprinter, Fabio Jakobsen, on his wheel. As Ballerini swung over, Philipsen took full advantage of the position he found himself in, crossing the line almost a bike length clear of Groenewegen as Dainese came from a long way back to take third.

“We just wanted to go as hard as possible to the finish. We were in a really good position as a team thanks to the confidence we got from the previous sprint. I think the team did a great job as a whole and Mathieu did really well to set me up at the end,” said Philipsen.

The defending champion at Tirreno, van der Poel has been quieter this week, putting all of his focus on next weekend’s Milan-Sanremo. “I’m really happy with the team. Two victories here is really nice. I’m starting to enjoy the lead-outs especially if the sprinter finishes it off. It’s also good for me to go hard in the final bearing in mind what’s coming,” he said.

“I’m already focused on Sanremo and I hope this will get me the shape I need for Sanremo. I’ve worked as well as I could this and I’m healthy. I just need a bit of luck to win the race next weekend.”

A surprise late entry for Tirreno, Roglič will now switch his focus to the Volta a Catalunya at the end of the month having taken three stage wins and the overall title in Italy. “It’s just nice to come back to racing this way. I really enjoyed the whole week. My team-mates were super strong. One week ago I was just expecting to suffer. It’s even better to win when it’s unexpected. It feels good ahead of the Giro d’Italia too,” said Roglič, who has made the Italian national tour his principal objective for this season.

Tirreno-Adriatico stage seven: San Benedetto del Tronto > San Benedetto del Tronto, 154km

1. Jasper Philipsen (Bel) Alpecin-Deceuninck, at 3-32.36
2. Dylan Groenewegen (Hol) Jayco-Alula
3. Alberto Dainese (Ita) Team DSM
4. Phil Bauhaus (Ger) Bahrain Victorious
5. Simone Consonni (Ita) Cofidis
6. Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Israel-PremierTech
7. Jordi Meeus (Bel) Bora-Hansgrohe  
8. Clément Russo (Fra) Arkéa-Samsic
9. Luca Colnagi (Ita) Green Project-Bardiani
10. Fernando Gaviria (Col) Movistar, all same time.

Final general classification 

1. Primož Roglič (Slo) Jumbo-Visma, at 28-38.57
2. João Almeida (Por) UAE-Team Emirates, at 18 secs
3. Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers, at 23 secs
4. Lennard Kämna (Ger) Bora-hansgrohe, at 34 secs
5. Giulio Ciccone (Ita) Trek-Segafredo, at 37 secs
6. Enric Mas (Spa) Movistar, at 41 secs
7. Mikel Landa (Spa) Bahrain Victorious, at 56 secs
8. Hugh Carthy (GBr) EF Education-EasyPost, at 57 secs
9. Aleksandr Vlasov (Rus) Bora-hansgrohe, at 1-10
10. Thibaut Pinot (Fra) Groupama-FDJ, at 1-11

Soudal Quick-Step team boss Patrick Lefevere has lashed out at the UCI, accusing the sport’s ruling body of being “short of cash” after his team leader Julian Alaphilippe was handed a fine of 500 Swiss francs for removing his helmet during Thursday’s fourth stage of Tirreno-Adriatico.

Writing in his weekly column in Belgian daily Het Nieuwsblad, Lefevere was typically forthright. “Wind in Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico, but I notice that it’s also raining. The fines from the UCI are falling from the sky this year,” he declared.

“A fine of 500 Swiss francs for Julian Alaphilippe on Thursday… He briefly took off his helmet while he changed his clothing. How long did that take? A maximum of five minutes. That’s 100 Swiss francs a minute.”

He backed up his claim that the UCI is “short of cash” by pointing to other incidents that resulted in his riders being penalised by race commissaires. The Belgian team boss highlighted the disqualification of James Knox for drafting behind a car at the Tour Down Under after the Briton had had to undergo a concussion test protocol following a crash. He also referred to Alaphilppe losing the yellow jersey during the 2020 Tour de France for a time penalty imposed after he’d taken a bottle just beyond the point where feeding had ended.

Lefevere went on to suggest that the UCI itself should come under scrutiny for what he saw as dangerous road furniture on the finale of stage five of Paris-Nice. “I’m not going to say that the UCI should applaud when a rider takes off his helmet – we shouldn’t downplay safety – but should the federation also impose a fine on itself if a bollard suddenly becomes apparent in the road in the last kilometre of Paris-Nice? I didn’t see that in the official communiqué,” he affirmed.

Lefevere concluded his swipe at the UCI by suggesting that former riders would be much better suited to the role of the commissaires who ensure adherence to the sport’s rules during racing. “A former rider has a better feel for that than someone who has never raced… My advice to retired riders who want to ‘keep doing something in racing’: take a UCI commissaire’s course,” he said

A glance at the UCI rules suggests that Alaphilippe could have been handed a more severe penalty, including disqualification from the Italian stage race for removing his helmet. The regulations state that a 200 Swiss franc fine and elimination or disqualification for this infraction. But the Frenchman actually appears to have been charged under the section of the rules relating to ‘damage to the image of cycling’.

Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) took an impressive victory on stage five of Tirreno-Adriatico, taking over the overall lead in the process. 

On the race's Queen stage- a mountain top finish on the Sassotetto climb- The Jumbo-Visma man capitalised on indecision in a select group of riders, beating Giulio Ciccone (Trek-Segafredo) and Tao Geoghegan Hart (Ineos Grenadiers) to the line in a mass sprint finish. 

High winds effected much of the action on the final climb, with Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious) being the first man to launch an attack. Caruso briefly opened up a gap of more than 20 seconds, before Enric Mas (Movistar) kicked on, taking Giulio Ciccone (Trek-Segafredo) with him.

Once the duo had caught Caruso, bringing a select group with them, Ciccone and Geoghegan Hart both began to sprint although Roglič had other ideas.

Once the Slovenian launched his sprint, he timed his jump to perfection, passing the Trek and Ineos pair on the line to snatch another win. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

Before the race's Queen stage got underway, a decision was made to cut the summit finish at Sassotetto by 2.5 kilometres due to severe wind and rain at the top. 

Lennard Kämna (Bora-Hansgrohe) was in the overall lead after stage four, but it was widely anticipated that he would come under attack on the steep final climb. 

After the flag dropped, a variety of riders got up the road looking to establish a breakaway. Amongst them was Quinn Simmons (Trek-Segafredo) and Davide Ballerini (Soudal Quick-Step). Eventually as the road started to get bumpy, multiple other riders joined the move. They were Zdenek Stybar (Jayco-AIUla), Erik Fetter (Eolo-Kometa), Anthony Perez (Cofidis), Simon Guglielmi (Arkea-Samsic) and Florian Stork (DSM). 

Simmons would soon drop back to the peloton. The leaders had an advantage of two and a half minutes. With 67 kilometres left to race, Guglielmi would soon follow Simmons back to the main field being led by Bora-Hansgrohe. As the leaders approached the day's intermediate sprint, they rolled over it uncontested with Stybar taking maximum points.

The wind was heavily impacting the riders as they looked to put on rain jackets and other warm weather gear. Laurens de Plus (Ineos Grenadiers) was involved in a small crash but was soon back on his bike and riding again.

As the kilometres flew by, the breakaway was beginning to lose momentum. As they took on the San Ginesio, the first of three categorised climbs, their advantage was beginning to be drastically cut. With 48 kilometres to race the riders passed the base of the day’s final climb. They would then begin a loop involving more climbing, before returning to the base of Sassotetto to begin the final ascent. Fetter and Stybar were soon dropped by the leaders and back in the peloton.

With 40 kilometres left to race, Ineos Grenadiers suddenly appeared on the front of the main field. A high pace set by Michal Kwiatkowski and Filippo Ganna was causing the peloton to shatter. Jumbo-Visma, Bora-Hansgrohe and Movistar were also present, as riders began to think about the stage finale.

With 24 kilometres left of the day, it was all over for the breakaway. Ineos Grenadiers devoured the remnants of the leading group as the riders began the penultimate climb to Gualdo. As the gradient began to bite, Movistar jostled Ineos off the front of the peloton, as they looked to set up Enric Mas. 

As the peloton descended towards the base of the Sassotetto climb, the wind was so severe that riders were unclipping one foot after getting caught in the gusts. Movistar continued to drive the pace looking to make things difficult for the other stronger teams.

Once the Sassotetto began, all hell would break loose as UAE Team Emirates moved to the front of the bunch and began to shred the field. Davide Formolo put in a huge turn as UAE looked to position Adam Yates. With four kilometres to go, George Bennett took over the pace setting. Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe) was locked in on his back wheel. 

Suddenly Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious) launched a huge attack looking to set up Mikel Landa. The Italian soon brought up a big advantage of 21 seconds as he entered the snowline on the climb. 

At just over a kilometre to the finish, Enric Mas launched a violent attack which soon brought Caruso back into the fold. Giulio Ciccone (Trek-Segafredo) was able to follow. As the pace stalled, it enabled a large group to reform with a whole host of favourites in contention. 

In the end, once Ciccone and Tao Geoghegan Hart kicked for the line, Roglič was straight onto them. Once the Slovenian passed Ciccone, there would be no stopping him as he took a second successive stage win and took over the overall lead. 

STAGE FIVE RESULTS, MORRO D’ORO - SARNANO SASSOTETTO 166 kilometres

1. Primož Roglič  (SLO) Jumbo-Visma, in -4-38-32
2. Giulio Ciccone (ITA) Trek-Segafredo,
3. Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers,
4. Jai Hindley (AUS) Bora-Hansgrohe,
5. Lennard Kamna (GER) Bora-Hansgrohe,
6. Aleksandr Vlasov Bora-Hansgrohe,
7. Mikel Landa (SPA) Bahrain Victorious,
8. Joao Almeida (POR) UAE Team Emirates,
9. Damiano Caruso (ITA) Bahrain Victorious,
10. Brandon McNulty (USA) UAE Team Emirates, all same time

General Classification after stage five

1. Primož Roglič  (SLO) Jumbo-Visma, in 20-17-14
2. Lennard Kamna (GER) Bora-Hansgrohe, at 4s
3. Joao Almeida (POR) UAE Team Emirates, at 12s
4. Brandon McNulty (USA) UAE Team EMirates, at 17s
5. Wilco Kelderman (NED) Jumbo-Visma, at 19s
6. Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers, at same time
7. Aleksandr Vlasov Bora-Hansgrohe, at 21s
8. Jai Hindley (AUS) Bora-Hansgrohe, at 22s
9. Giulio Ciccone (ITA) Trek-Segafredo, at 24s
10. Enric Mas (SPA) Movistar, at 31s

Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) stormed to victory on stage three of Tirreno-Adriatico after a rapid bunch sprint. 

Philipsen was able to rely on a lead out from Mathieu van der Poel which none of Alpecin-Deceuninck’s rivals could answer. 

Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty) was once again in the thick of the action, taking third place behind Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain Victorious). 

As the peloton passed under seven kilometres to go, panic would follow as splits in the bunch briefly began to form. Jumbo-Visma duo Wout van Aert and Primož Roglič were driving the pace, which caused pandemonium behind them.

The main field eventually got back on terms, but Alpecin-Deceuninck would not be denied. After a huge turn on the front of the peloton to set up his team mate, Van der Poel peeled off and there would be no stopping Philipsen. 

Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) finished in the main field to hold onto the overall lead. 

How it happened

After yesterday’s stage two won by Fabio Jakobsen (Soudal Quick-Step), the peloton faced another long day in the saddle at 215 kilometres which was widely anticipated to end in another bunch sprint. There were two categorised climbs on the course, but not severe enough to make a difference. 

Once the flag dropped, several riders attacked including Eolo-Kometa brothers Davide and Mattia Bais. Two Corratec riders Stefano Gandin and Alessandro Iacchi - also in yesterday’s break - were back in the mix again too. The quartet swiftly built up a lead of more than four minutes. 

As the riders passed the halfway point of the stage, Gandin and Iacchi faded and were swept up by the main field led by Dries Devenyns and Soudal Quick-Step. Alpecin-Deceuninck and Jayco-AIUla began to help with the work on the front of the peloton, and with 80 kilometres left to race, the Eolo-Kometa siblings were soon swept up. 

At 54 kilometres to go, the main field raced towards the finish at speed, with a variety of teams jostling for position on the front. Movistar were well represented, looking to help Fernando Gaviria after stage two disappointment. UAE Team Emirates, Jumbo-Visma and DSM were also in the mix. 

Biniam Girmay was clearly feeling sharp, so with 30 kilometres left, Intermarché-Circus-Wanty suddenly appeared, looking to get their man into position ahead of what many predicted to be a hectic finish. 

Led by Jumbo-Visma, the peloton were sailing along. Unfortunately the high-pace was too much for some, and Negasi Abreha (Q36.5) was involved in a nasty crash, losing his entire rear tyre in the process. Huge splits were forming in the field thanks to a huge turn of speed from Wout van Aert and Primož Roglič. 

Several big name riders were distanced, but Ben O’Connor (AG2R Citroën) and Magnus Sheffield (Ineos Grenadiers) were two who were able to keep in contact. Several key sprinters were distanced, including Fabio Jakobsen (Soudal Quick-Step) and Girmay. Peter Sagan (TotalEnergies) was also in the mix.

With seven kilometres to go, the second group began to panic, particularly Bahrain Victorious who had Mikel Landa to protect. Alpecin-Deceuninck were the only sprinters team to make the jump to the first group, so the team continued to push to set up Jasper Philipsen.

Five kilometres later, it was panic over, as Soudal Quick-Step pulled the second group back in contention. The fast men would have their day afterall. 

As they flew under the one kilometre to go banner, Trek-Segafredo led the bunch around a series of tight bends. Bahrain Victorious looked to set up Phil Bauhaus and drove the pace. However, Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) took to the front of the bunch, determined to not let his team's rivals outmanoeuvre them. 

Once Van der Poel peeled off, Philipsen was unleashed with Bauhaus and Girmay hot on his wheel. 

In the end, Philipsen simply had too much power and took a fine stage win. 

Stage three results, Follonica - Foligno, 216 kilometres 

1. Jasper Philipsen (BEL) Alpecin-Deceuninck, in 05-19-08
2. Phil Bauhaus (GER) Bahrain Victorious,
3. Biniam Girmay (ERI) Intermarché-Circus-Wanty,
4. Matteo Moschetti (ITA) Q36.5,
5. Simone Consonni (ITA) Cofidis,
6. Wout van Aert (BEL) Jumbo-Visma,
7. Edward Theuns (BEL) Trek-Segafredo,
8. Dylan Groenewegen (NED) Jayco-AIUla,
9. Fabio Jakobsen (NED) Soudal Quick-Step,
10. Jordi Meueus (BEL) Bora-Hansgrohe, all same time

General classification after stage three

1. Filippo Ganna (ITA) Ineos Grenadiers, at 12-28
2.Lennard Kamna (GER) Bora-Hansgrohe), at 28s
3. Magnus Sheffield (USA) Ineos Grenadiers, at 31s
4. Brandon McNulty (USA) UAE Team Emirates, at 34s
5. Thymen Arensman (NED) Ineos Grenadiers, at 39s
6. Joao Almeida (POR) UAE Team Emirates, at 41s
7. Andreas Leknessund (NOR) DSM, at same time
8. Phillip Casper Pedersen (DEN) Soudal Quick-Step, at 47s
9. Wilco Kelderman (NED) Jumbo-Visma, at 48s
10. Aleksey Lutsenko (KAZ) Astana Qazaqstan, at same time

Fabio Jakobsen (Soudal Quick-Step) put in a huge final kick to win stage two of Tirreno-Adriatico. 

On a slight uphill drag to the finish line, Fernando Gaviria (Movistar) was the first to launch a move looking to outfox the likes of Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco-AIUla). 

However, when Jakobsen finally went, there would be no stopping him as he caught and rounded Gaviria and Philipsen to take a superb victory. Philipsen finished in second, taking Alpecin-Deceuninck’s first podium place of 2023, and Gaviria took third.

Bimian Girmay (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty) was also in the thick of the action, taking fourth place ahead of Juan Sebastian Molano (UAE Team Emirates)

After finishing safely within the main field, Filippo Ganna retained the blue jersey of the overall leader. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

After Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) decimated the field to win the opening time trial, Tuesday’s stage two would be a long, relatively flat affair with 210 kilometres on the menu between Camaiore and Follonica. A day for the sprinters, and Ganna was largely expected to hold onto his overall lead. 

Once the flag dropped, a small breakaway consisting of Eolo Kometa duo Davide Bais and Mirco Maestri, Stefano Gandin and Alessandro Iacchi (Corratec) and Roland Thalman (Tudor) soon got up the road, and with just over 100 kilometres to go, held a gap of two minutes back to the peloton led by Soudal Quick-Step. 

With 60 kilometres left to race, the breakaway was starting to crumble with both Iacchi and Gandin dropping back before being swiftly swallowed up by the rampaging peloton. All of the sprinters teams, including Jayco-AIUla and Soudal Quick-Step, were already beginning to amass on the front of the bunch with one eye to the finish in Follonica. 

As the riders flew past the 43 kilometre marker, Dylan Groenewegen was clearly feeling strong, and consequently Jayco-AIUla had their full team on the front of the bunch which whittled the gap to the leaders down to just 42 seconds. It was all in for the finish, and things were starting to get hectic. 

Due to the high pace, things started to get panicky at the back of the main field, and with 31 kilometres to go Simon Pellaud (Tudor) was on the deck after touching wheels with Daniel Oss (TotalEnergies). 

21 kilometres to go, and the race leaders were still hanging on by just ten seconds. A brief finishing circuit featuring some small hills was on the menu which the riders would head through twice. Not long after they passed the finish line for the first time, the remnants of the break were swept up by the main field led by Jumbo-Visma and Ineos Grenadiers. 

As the race approached l’Impostino, one of the small hills, Jumbo-Visma and Intermarché-Circus-Wanty were wrestling on the front of the peloton, looking to potentially provide a launch pad for Wout van Aert and Biniam Girmay to go from distance. Although it would ultimately come to nothing thanks to sterling work from Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal Quick-Step) who snuffed out any possibilities of attacks in service of his teammate Fabio Jakobsen.

Three kilometres to go, and Alaphilippe put in one huge final turn as Quick-Step looked to swamp the front of the field. Movistar were well and truly in the mix, and once the slight uphill to the finish arrived, Fernando Gaviria launched an early jump for the line.

However, Gaviria went too early and was soon passed by a rampaging Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) who sailed past him at speed. It looked like it would be the Belgian’s day, until Fabio Jakobsen timed his sprint to perfection passing Philipsen to take the win on the line.

After finishing safely within the main field, Ganna retained the overall lead.  

Stage two results, Camaiore - Follonica, 210 km 

1. Fabio Jakobsen (NED) Soudal Quick-Step, in 05-06-33
2. Jasper Philipsen (BEL) Alpecin-Deceuninck,
3. Fernando Gaviria (COL) Movistar,
4. Bimian Girmay (ERI) Intermarché-Circus-Wanty,
5. Juan Sebastian Molano (COL) UAE Team Emirates,
6. Phil Bauhaus (GER) Bahrain Victorious,
7. Dylan Groenewegen (NED) Jayco-AIUla,
8. Simone Consonni (ITA) Cofidis,
9. Jordi Meeus (GER) Bora-Hansgrohe,
10. Nacer Bouhanni (FRA) Arkea-Samsic, all same time

General classification after stage two 

1. Filippo Ganna (ITA) Ineos Grenadiers, at 12-28
2.Lennard Kamna (GER) Bora-Hansgrohe), at 28s
3. Magnus Sheffield (USA) Ineos Grenadiers, at 31s
4. Brandon McNulty (USA) UAE Team Emirates, at 34s
5. Thymen Arensman (NED) Ineos Grenadiers, at 39s
6. Joao Almeida (POR) UAE Team Emirates, at 41s
7. Andreas Leknessund (NOR) DSM, at same time
8. Phillip Casper Pedersen (DEN) Soudal Quick-Step, at 47s
9. Wilco Kelderman (NED) Jumbo-Visma, at 48s
10. Aleksey Lutsenko (KAZ) Astana Qazaqstan, at same time

Filippo Ganna destroyed his rivals to win the opening time trial of Tirreno-Adriatico 2023 in style.

In difficult weather conditions, with torrential rain and hail stones leaving the ground treacherous, the Italian champion annihilated any form of competition to win the day with an average speed of 55.3 kph. Sitting in the hot seat as Ganna crossed the line, Lennard Kämna (Bora-Hansgrohe) could only admire the stunning performance as he was forced to settle for second place, 23 seconds off the time set by Ganna. 

American teammate of Ganna, Magnus Sheffield spent a large portion of the day at the top of the leaderboard, simply keeping the top spot warm for the Italian, before Kämna displaced him with his solid ride.

Earlier on in proceedings, Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates) and Michael Hepburn (Jayco-AIUla) were two other notable performers, narrowly missing out on knocking Sheffield off his pedestal before Ganna dropped down the start ramp.

Once he was out on course, there was only ever going to be one winner. Ganna flew around the slippery course, setting a remarkable average speed and riding a full 2kph faster than anyone else to take his first win of the 2023 season.  

On his return from injury, Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) finished 49 seconds down on Ganna. Two pre-race favourites, Jai Hindley (Bora-hansgrohe) and Ben O’Connor (AG2R Citroen) were 51 and 52 seconds back respectively.  

How it happened

Stage one’s opening time trial in Lido di Camaiore would be a short affair, at just 11.5 kilometres in length. Racing began in a torrential downpour- later turning into a brief hailstorm- a recipe for disaster in any racing scenario, let alone one against the clock.

It wasn’t long before American Magnus Sheffield (Ineos Grenadiers) set the fastest time that would keep him provisionally at the top of the leaderboard. Sheffield’s time of 12-59 was narrowly missed by Australian duo Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Ben O’Connor (AG2R Citroen) who were 20 and 21 seconds off the Ineos man’s time respectively. 

Next of the big favourites to come in was Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) who finished 47 seconds down on his former Ineos teammate Sheffield, and it wouldn’t be long before Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) would take to the fray.

Aleksandr Vlasov (Bora-Hansgrohe) was next to cross the line for the pre-race favourites, finishing with a time of 13-18 which put him just ahead of Hindley, just missing out on the best time set by Sheffield. Just before Vlasov came in, Nelson Oliveira of Movistar got the closest yet to Sheffield’s time, at 13-17.

Roglič would then finish just milliseconds off the hot seat, matching Oliveira’s time of 13-17 putting him only just in third place provisionally. At this point in the race, second to eighth place was covered by just four seconds. 

Suddenly, it looked like the American’s were outracing the Australian’s as Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates) set an incredible time at just 13-02. It was McNulty’s best time trial performance to date and a big statement of intent ahead of the stages to come. 

Eventually, the race had a new leader in the form of German rider Lennard Kämna (Bora-Hansgrohe) who was three seconds faster than Sheffield at 12-56. Although with Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) still to come, only time would tell as to how long the German would hold the hot seat.

Once he was out on the course, Ganna simply blew everyone away. The Italian was ten seconds ahead of his rivals at the checkpoint, and would finish with a stunning time of 12-28 to win the day and ensure he would hold the race leader's jersey for some time to come. 

Tirreno Adriatico 2023, Stage one results 

1. Filippo Ganna (ITA) Ineos Grenadiers, at 12-28
2. Lennard Kamna (GER) Bora-Hansgrohe), at 28s
3. Magnus Sheffield (USA) Ineos Grenadiers, at 31s
4. Michael Hepburn (AUS) Jayco- AIUla, at 33s
5. Brandon McNulty (USA) UAE Team Emirates, at 34s
6. Thymen Arensman (NED) Ineos Grenadiers, at 39s
7. Joao Almeida (POR) UAE Team Emirates, at 41s
8. Andreas Leknessund (NOR) DSM, at same time
9. Phillip Casper Pedersen (DEN) Soudal Quick-Step, at 47s
10. Wilco Kelderman (NED) Jumbo-Visma, at 48s 

General classification after stage one

1. Filippo Ganna (ITA) Ineos Grenadiers, at 12-28
2. Lennard Kamna (GER) Bora-Hansgrohe), at 28s
3. Magnus Sheffield (USA) Ineos Grenadiers, at 31s
4. Michael Hepburn (AUS) Jayco- AIUla, at 33s
5. Brandon McNulty (USA) UAE Team Emirates, at 34s
6. Thymen Arensman (NED) Ineos Grenadiers, at 39s
7. Joao Almeida (POR) UAE Team Emirates, at 41s
8. Andreas Leknessund (NOR) DSM, at same time
9. Phillip Casper Pedersen (DEN) Soudal Quick-Step, at 47s
10. Wilco Kelderman (NED) Jumbo-Visma, at 48s 

The Italian stage race Tirreno-Adriatico will be back for its 58th edition between 6-12 March, bringing seven days of action-packed racing. 

Beginning on the the country's Tyrrhenian coast, the peloton will make their way inland, battling tough climbs and tricky sprints, en route to the Adriatic sea. 

Below are details of the 2023 route, as well as a list of the riders who will be competing. One notable absentee from this year's race is two-time winner and reigning champion Tadej Pogačar, who has instead chosen to ride Paris-Nice, an equivalent weeklong event that runs in France at the same time.

Tirreno-Adriatico 2023: route

As has become customary at Tirreno-Adriatico, this year's race will open with a short individual time trial in Lido di Camaiore, a coastal city in the west of the country. 

From there, the journey eastwards commences. Stages two and three - both over 200km in length - offer long days in the saddle that look destined for sprint finishes. 

On stage four, a punchy finishing circuit in Tortoreto brings the first test for the climbers, who will ride three times up a 3km ascent, pitched at an average gradient of 7%. 

The race's only summit finish comes on stage five, in the form of Sarnano-Sassotetto. Gaining almost 1,000 metres in altitude, the climb stretches out over 13km, averaging 7.4%. It's steepest gradients come in the middle, with ramps at 14%. 

The climbing then continues into the penultimate day, with a series of sharp ascents in Osimo, where stage six finishes. 

The race will close on Sunday 12 March with a seafront circuit in San Benedetto del Tronto, where the sprinters should have their day again. 

In total, the peloton will ride 1,170.5km, racking up some 13,800 metres of climbing. 

Tirreno Adriatico 2023: stages

Stage 1: Lido di Camaiore - Lido di Camaiore (11.5km ITT)
Stage 2: Camaiore - Follonica (209km)
Stage 3: Follonica - Foligno (216km)
Stage 4: Greccio - Tortoreto (218km)
Stage 5: Morro d'Oro - Sarnano-Sassotetto (168km)
Stage 6: Osimo Stazione - Osimo (194km)
Stage 7: San Benedetto del Tronto - San Benedetto del Tronto (154km) 

Tirreno-Adriatico 2023: start list

AG2R Citroën

Greg Van Avermaet
Ben O'Connor
Michael Schär
Nans Peters
Andrea Vendrame
Felix Gall
Benoît Cosnefroy

Alpecin-Deceuninck 

Oscar Riesebeek
Gianni Vermeersch
Jasper Philipsen
Mathieu van der Poel
Ramon Sinkeldam
Robert Stannard
Michael Gogl

Arkéa Samsic

Donavan Grondin
Warren Barguil
Nacer Bouhanni
Cristián Rodríguez
Clément Russo
Simon Guglielmi
Laurent Pichon

Astana Qazaqstan

Mark Cavendish
Samuele Battistella
Alexey Lutsenko
Joe Dombrowski
Yevgeniy Fedorov
Gleb Syritsa
Leandro Basso

Bahrain Victorious 

Mikel Landa
Damiano Caruso
Andrea Pasqualon
Fran Miholjević
Santiago Buitrago
Nikias Arndt
Phil Bauhaus

Bora-Hansgrohe

Jordi Meeus
Jai Hindley
Aleksandr Vlasov
Lennard Kämna
Nico Denz
Patrick Gamper
Cesare Benedetti

Cofidis

Victor Lafay
Guillaume Martin
Simone Consonni
Axel Zingle
Davide Cimolai
Rémy Rochas
Anthony Perez

EF Education-EasyPost

Jonathan Caicedo
Julius van den Berg
Andrey Amador
Hugh Carthy
Mikkel Honoré
Jens Keukeleire
Sean Quinn

EOLO-Kometa

Mirco Maestri
Erik Fetter
Samuele Rivi
Mattia Bais
Francesco Gavazzi
Davide Bais
Lorenzo Fortunato

Green Project-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè

Samuele Zoccarato
Alessandro Tonelli
Filippo Magli
Riccardo Lucca
Luca Colnaghi
Alessandro Santaromita
Manuele Tarozzi

Groupama-FDJ

Thibaut Pinot
Valentin Madouas
Quentin Pacher
Fabian Lienhard
Bruno Armirail
Olivier Le Gac
Jake Stewart

Ineos Grenadiers 

Tom Pidcock
Filippo Ganna
Thymen Arensman
Magnus Sheffield
Laurens De Plus
Tao Geoghegan Hart
Michał Kwiatkowski

Intermarché-Circus-Wanty

Mike Teunissen
Biniam Girmay
Niccolò Bonifazio
Lorenzo Rota
Loïc Vliegen
Georg Zimmerman
Sven Erik Bystrøm

Israel-Premier Tech 

Michael Woods
Derek Gee
Omer Goldstein
Krists Neilands
Giacomo Nizzolo
Mads Würtz Schmidt

Jayco AlUla

Dylan Groenewegen
Elmar Reinders
Zdeněk Štybar
Michael Hepburn
Luka Mezgec
Jan Maas
Alessandro De Marchi

Jumbo-Visma

Primož Roglič
Tiesj Benoot
Wout van Aert
Attila Valter
Wilco Kelderman
Dylan van Baarle
Koen Bouwman

Movistar

Alex Aranburu
Enric Mas
Fernando Gaviria
Jorge Arcas
Nelson Oliveira
Albert Torres
Carlos Verona

Q36.5 Pro Cycling

Gianluca Brambilla
Damien Howson
Jack Bauer
Mark Donovan
Negasi Haylu Abreha
Filippo Conca
Matteo Moschetti

Soudal Quick-Step

Fabio Jakobsen
Andrea Bagioli
Julian Alaphilippe
Bert Van Lerberghe
Casper Pedersen
Dries Devenys
Davide Ballerini

Team Corratec

Stefano Gandin
German Nicolás Tivani
Alexander Konychev
Jan Stöckli
Valerio Conti
Alessandro Iacchi
Attilio Viviani

Team DSM 

Andreas Leknessund
Henri Vandenabeele
Jonas Iversby Hvideberg
Florian Stork
Alberto Dainese
Marius Mayrhofer
Harm Vanhoucke

TotalEnergies

Steff Cras
Peter Sagan
Julien Simon
Maciej Bodnar
Valentin Ferron
Mathieu Burgaudeau
Daniel Oss

Trek-Segafredo

Edward Theuns
Quinn Simmons
Giulio Ciccone
Dario Cataldo
Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier
Markus Hoelgaard
Toms Skujiņš

Tudor Pro Cycling

Simon Pellaud
Sébastien Reichenbach
Tom Bohli
Lucas Eriksson
Arthur Kluckers
Roland Thalmann
Yannis Voisard

UAE Team Emirates 

Adam Yates
Juan Sebastián Molano
George Bennett
Davide Formolo
Alessandro Covi
Brandon McNulty
João Almeida

Three-time Vuelta a España winner Primož Roglič will begin his season at Tirreno-Adriatico next week in preparation for his GC bid at the Giro d’Italia. 

The Slovenian was not originally down to compete in the week-long Italian stage race, and was only intending on riding the Volta a Catalunya before the Giro as he recovers from a major shoulder operation. 

Announcing Roglič's Tirreno-Adriatico participation on Twitter, Jumbo-Visma sports director Merijn Zeeman said: “He worked hard and is ready for it. Racing is the next step in the buildup towards his goals. He will start without pressure or results in mind.” 

The 33-year-old will be joined by six of his Jumbo-Visma team-mates at the race: Wout van Aert, Wilco Kelderman, Koen Bouwman, Attila Valter, and Opening Weekend winners Tiesj Benoot and Dylan van Baarle.

Last October, Roglič underwent a bone graft procedure on his left shoulder, which had been dislocated a number of times in crashes. The surgery was successful and he spent the ensuing two months with his arm in a sling. 

Roglič has not raced since abandoning the Vuelta a España last September, but travelled to Tenerife, Spain earlier this year to train. 

Now, he says he has “no problems” with his shoulder. Speaking to Slovenian national broadcaster RTV last month, the Jumbo-Visma rider said: “It’s working as it should, everything is good, and I’m healthy. I’m well on my way back to training with everyone else.” 

After the Volta a Catalunya, Roglič is planning to take part in another long training camp, where he will work on his time trialling ahead of the Giro d’Italia. The race will feature three stages against the clock, adding up to more than 70 kilometres.

“After my operation, it was a little more difficult for me to sit on the TT bike because I have an extreme position,” he said. “Now I can do it normally. Ahead of the Giro, I will devote as much time as possible to [training on it].” 

Tirreno-Adriatico begins on Monday 6 March with a short individual time trial in Lido di Camaoire. In the absence of reigning champion Tadej Pogačar, who has opted for Paris-Nice, the favourites to win the race's golden trident include former Tour de France champion Geraint Thomas, Vuelta a España runner-up Enric Mas and Bahrain Victorious's Mikel Landa. 

Now in its 58th edition, the seven-day Tirreno-Adriatico has established itself as one of the cycling calendar's most important early season stage races.  

The Italian event runs from the country's west coast to the east, taking in seafront scenery, as well as the tough peaks of the Apennines. 

This year's race opens with an individual time trial in Lido di Camaiore, before dealing equal chances for the peloton's sprinters and climbers over the ensuing week. 

Among those competing in the 2023 event are two-time world champion Julian Alaphilippe, Tour de France stage win record holder Mark Cavendish and cyclo-cross legend Mathieu van der Poel. For the full list of riders, visit our race route and start list page. 

One notable absentee is Tadej Pogačar, the winner of the past two editions of Tirreno-Adriatico. The Slovenian has chosen instead to race Paris-Nice as he prepares for another summer assault on the Tour de France. 

Here's a guide on how to watch the Race of the Two Seas, wherever you are in the world. 

How to watch Tirreno-Adriatico in the UK

UK viewers will be able to enjoy live coverage of Tirreno-Adriatico on GCN+, as well as Discovery+ and Eurosport. 

You can buy a month-long pass to watch the race, as well as the French equivalent Paris-Nice which runs at the same time, for £6.99 via the three platforms' websites.

Alternatively, a year-long pass for Eurosport player costs £59.99, bringing you a saving of £23.89. 

A GCN+ subscription is even cheaper, priced at £39.99 for the year. With a GCN+ account, you'll have access to the live stream, as well as highlights and in-depth analysis. You can also enjoy all the other cycling coverage the platform has to offer, from live races to feature-length documentaries. 

Coverage of the race will begin on GCN+ and Eurosport at about 12:00 GMT every day, with the exception of stage six, which begins at 14:00 GMT. Highlights will then be uploaded online later in the day. 

If you are not in the UK when the race is on, you can still watch the race using a VPN. Setting up a VPN is simple – just download, install, open the app and select your location.

There are several VPN options out there, including ExpressVPN, which offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.

How to watch Tirreno-Adriatico in the USA 

In the USA, too, the race will be available to stream all week on on GCN+ and Discovery+.

You can take out a GCN+ subscription and gain access to everything the platform has to offer for either $8.99 a month, or $49.99 for the whole year.

Coverage begins at around 7:00 ET every day, apart from stage six, when it starts at 9:00 ET. Long and short highlights will be available online after each day's racing. 

How to watch Tirreno-Adriatico in the rest of the world

GCN+ has the rights to broadcast the race live in a number of regions around the world. You can see if it is available in your country by checking the platform's live racing schedule. 

The 2023 Tirreno-Adriatico will begin with an 11.5 kilometre individual time trial in Lido di Camaiore, Italy. 

Organiser RCS presented the route for the 58th edition of the Italian week-long stage race this morning, with RCS Sport Race Director Stefano Allocchio calling it “varied” and suggesting that it “offers chances for every type of rider”. 

Similarly to this year's edition won by Tadej Pogačar, the 58th edition of the race will begin with a short race against the clock, before the following two flatter stages which will provide opportunities for the sprinters to test their legs. 

Stage four between Grecco and Tortoreto will be a difficult and hilly test with more than 2,000 metres of climbing with three repeats of the final 17 kilometre finishing circuit. The final climb to Tortoreto also offers an average gradient of 7% which will be a tough proposition at the end of a long day in the saddle. 

Stage five is when things start to get really difficult, with the arrival of the gruelling 1,465 metre long Sarnano-Sassotetto climb. 

Saturday’s stage six is another challenging proposition in the Marche region. The 194 kilometre long route takes the riders between Osimo Stazione and Osimo, with over 3,000 metres of elevation gain on the menu. The final circuit of the stage also features slopes of more than 20% gradient. A tough ask indeed. 

Tirreno-Adriatico is often contested by riders who are likely to then go on to ride the Giro d'Italia in May. However, there are some exceptions to that rule. Particularly with Tadej Pogačar winning last year's edition. 

In his analysis of the route, Stefano Ollochio suggested that he was particularly looking forward to stage five and the Sarnano-Sassotetto climb. 

"The route of the 58th edition of the "Race of the Two Seas" is varied and offers chances for every type of riders. As in 2022 we will start with an Individual Time Trial followed by stages for there will be legs for sprinters, finisseurs and the return of the uphill finish. We have already tackled the Sarnano-Sassotetto ascent in the past but this will be the first time we'll get to the Valico of Santa Maria Maddalena," he said.

The 58th edition of Tirreno-Adriatico will run between 6-12 March 2023. 

Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain-Victorious) narrowly won the final stage of Tirreno-Adriatico after a chaotic sprint finish.

The German arrived late to pip Giacomo Nizzolo (Israel-Premier Tech) on the line, with Team BikeExchange-Jayco’s Kaden Groves finishing third in San Benedetto del Tronto. 

Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) finished safely within the bunch to secure overall victory at Tirreno-Adriatico for consecutive years. 

After winning Strade Bianche with an incredible solo attack last weekend, the Slovenian powerhouse claimed his second WorldTour stage race in as many months by a margin of nearly two minutes to Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma).

HOW IT HAPPENED

A 159km circuit brought the curtain down on Tirreno-Adriatico for another year, as stage seven started and finished in the coastal city of San Benedetto del Tronto. 

The final day of this year’s race was a stage of two halves, with 70km of climbing kicking things off before the riders returned to the Adriatic coast and raced five laps around a pan-flat circuit.

Both Tao Geoghegan Hart (Ineos Grenadiers) and Enric Mas (Movistar) didn’t make it to the start line on the final day, with the Giro D’Italia winner suffering from a virus that’s plagued much of the professional peloton lately.

Whilst Movistar confirmed that Mas wouldn’t start because he was still feeling the effects from a crash whilst descending on stage six.

It took just 4km for a breakaway to form, with Alessandro Tonelli (Bardiani-CSF-Faizanè), Jorge Arcas (Movistar Team) and Manuele Boaro (Astana Qazaqstan Team) keen to try and spoil the day for the sprinters.

Only a few kilometres down the road and two of the few remaining sprinters in the bunch were caught up in a crash.

Olav Kooij (Jumbo-Visma) and Magnus Cort (EF Education-EasyPost) were involved, with the Dutchman’s teammate Sepp Kuss and Mattia Bais (Drone Hopper - Androni Giocattoli) also hitting the deck.

Both Bais and Cort were forced to abandon due to the crash, with EF Education-EasyPost confirming that the Dane suffered a broken collarbone from the collision.

The escapees built up a three-minute gap over the early climbs of the stage, with Boaro claiming the maximum five points on offer at Ripatransone, the only categorized climb of the day.

With 70km left in the day, the riders reached the coastal road and began the first of five laps around the circuit at San Benedetto del Tronto.

Groupama-FDJ picked up the pace at the front of the peloton with 50km to go, hoping to reel in the break for their sprinter Arnaud Démare, halving the deficit in a matter of minutes.

It was Tonelli who won the intermediate sprint at 42km and with his work done for the day he was the first of the escapees to drop back with 15km left.

The bunch took their time to make the catch, but the Boaro and Arcas were finally brought back inside the final 10km. 

Israel-Premier Tech's lead-out train led the way through a tight chicane inside the final kilometre.

Yet a headwind on the finishing straight made for a chaotic sprint with teams like Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl and Groupama-FDJ nowhere to be seen.

It looked as if Nizzolo and Edvald Boasson Hagen (TotalEnergies) would tussle it out to the line but Bauhaus came from deep with a powerful and well-timed sprint to snatch victory on the throw.

There was no change to the overall standings on the final day, with Pogačar being joined on the podium by Vingegaard and Mikel Landa (Bahrain-Victorious), topping off a great day for the Spaniard's team. 

RESULTS

TIRRENO-ADRIATICO 2022, STAGE SEVEN

1.Phil Bauhaus (Ger) Bahrain-Victorious in 3-39-58
2. Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Israel-Premier Tech, all at same time
3. Kaden Groves (Aus) Team BikeExchange-Jayco
4. Davide Cimolai (Ita) Cofidis
5. Alberto Dainese (Ita) Team DSM
6. Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
7. Edvald Boasson Hagen (Nor) TotalEnergies
8. Olav Kooij (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
9. Arnaud Démare (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
10. Matteo Moschetti (Ita) Trek-Segafredo

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION

1.Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE-Team Emirates in 27-25-53
2. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Jumbo-Visma, at 1-52
3. Mikel Landa (Esp) Bahrain-Victorious, at 2-33
4. Richie Porte (Aus) Ineos Grenadiers, at 2-44
5. Jai Hindley (Aus) Bora-Hansgrohe, at 3-05
6. Thymen Arensman (Ned) Team DSM, at 3-16
7. Damiano Caruso (Ita) Bahrain-Victorious, at 3-20
8. Thibaut Pinot (Fra) Groupama-FDJ, at 3-37
9. Pello Bilbao (Esp) Bahrain-Victorious, at 3-51
10. Giulio Ciccone (Ita) Trek-Segafredo, at 4-03

Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) took his second stage win of Tirreno-Adriatico 2022 with a blistering solo attack to further increase his lead in the general classification.

The Slovenian took off with less than 15km to go and quickly put distance between him and his rivals.

Pogačar eventually crossed the line 1-03 ahead of Jumbo-Visma's Jonas Vingegaard and now takes a nearly two-minute lead into tomorrow's final stage eight.

How it happened

A backloaded day in Italy, with a 180km lead up to a double ascent of the Monte Carpegna. A few interesting names snuck their way into the move up the road, Quick-Step’s Julian Alaphilippe, Enric Mas (Movistar), Benoit Cosnefory (Ag2r Citroën) and Trek-Segafredo’s Quinn Simmons amongst a large move, Davide Bais (EOLO-Kometa) also present to try and steal the mountains jersey back off Simmons.

The break built up a healthy lead, UAE Team Emirates and Arkéa-Samsic marshalling the bunch behind, while Ineos’ Jhonatan Narváez was forced to abandon after a nasty crash. 

Once the escapees reached the Mobaroccio climb mid-way through the race with 120km to go, Simmons was first over the top to add to his KOM lead.

A couple more riders abandoned after the 100km mark, Astana’s Harold Tejada out after a crash, before Ineos’ Elia Viviani then climbed off. The break still had a five-minute advantage but that would likely evaporate at the business end.

Movistar’s Lluis Mas led the break over the intermediate sprint, with Jumbo-Visma and Bahrain-Victorious joining UAE Team Emirates at the head of the peloton, lobbing a minute and a half off the escapees’ gap, then coming under three minutes with 50km remaining.

Onto the first ascent of the Carpegna and the breakaway started to fracture, riders dropping as the gradient lifted, and soon only Alaphilippe, Cosnefroy, Simmons, Mas and Alex Aranburu the only ones left out front. At the top their advantage was down to 1-40, as both Remco Evenepoel and Tao Geoghegan Hart dropped from the bunch.

Simmons continued to push on alone as the gap came under one minute, wanting the mountain points, the rest of the break dispensed with now, Evenepoel half a minute further behind the bunch, Alaphilippe dropping back to lend a hand.

The descent was looking slightly treacherous, Damiano Caruso nearly running wide, and the main peloton reduced to just seven other men alongside the Italian: Pogačar, Ciccone, Landa, Vingegaard, Bilbao and Hindley.

But then some riders got back across, including Marc Soler who got to work for his team leader Pogačar, Simmons now caught and passed.

Onto the second ascent and Landa lifted the pace, dropping Majka, Soler, Ciccone and Pinot, as Pogačar, Vingegaard, Landa and Mas followed, yet Pinot was able to regroup alongside Porte and Hindley as they chased down the leaders.

With 16km remaining it was time. Pogačar launched his attack and once again no-one could match it, the Slovenian quickly taking out 20 seconds, soon up to half a minute.

Landa then stretched his legs, putting some life back into the chase but Pogačar was long gone. Enric Mas then crashed on one of the slippy corners of the descent, snow lining the roads. 

Landa and Vingegaard formed the second group on the road, Porte further back, Pogačar crossing the finish line with plenty of time to cement his overall lead heading into tomorrow's final stage.

Results

Tirreno-Adriatico 2022, stage six

1.Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE-Team Emirates in 5-28-57
2. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Jumbo-Visma, at 1-03
3. Mikel Landa (Esp) Bahrain-Victorious, at same time
4. Richie Porte (Aus) Ineos Grenadiers, at 1-34
5. Damiano Caruso (Ita) Bahrain-Victorious, at 1-49
6. Jai Hindley (Aus) Bora-Hansgrohe
7. Thibaut Pinot (Fra) Groupama-FDJ, both at same time
8. Giulio Ciccone (Ita) Trek-Segafredo, at 2-23
9. Pello Bilbao (Esp) Bahrain-Victorious
10. Thymen Arensman (Ned) Team DSM, both at same time

General classification after stage six

1.Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE-Team Emirates in 23-45-55
2. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Jumbo-Visma, at 1-52
3. Mikel Landa (Esp) Bahrain-Victorious, at 2-33
4. Richie Porte (Aus) Ineos Grenadiers, at 2-44
5. Jai Hindley (Aus) Bora-Hansgrohe, at 3-05
6. Thymen Arensman (Ned) Team DSM, at 3-16
7. Damiano Caruso (Ita) Bahrain-Victorious, at 3-20
8. Thibaut Pinot (Fra) Groupama-FDJ, at 3-37
9. Pello Bilbao (Esp) Bahrain-Victorious, at 3-51
10. Giulio Ciccone (Ita) Trek-Segafredo, at 4-03

Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), Remco Evenepoel (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) and Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) all managed to spectacularly end their chances of winning the fifth stage of Tirreno-Adriatico by bizarrely missing a right-turn 5km from the finish line.

With 8km left of the stage, Evenepoel launched an attack from the peloton in an attempt to catch up with the leading group a minute-and-a-half up the road. Tadej Pogačar immediately followed in order to not squander any time to his GC rival, while Jonas Vingegaard also managed to bridge the gap and follow the two race favourites.

Up front was seven riders, all desperately trying to maintain the gap between themselves and the peloton to potentially win the stage. However, triumph from this group seemed unlikely, considering the trio of elite-level riders behind them had managed to bring the deficit to below a minute in just a couple of kilometres.

What transpired in a crazy twist of fate, though, was Evenepoel, Pogačar and Vingegaard carrying on straight down a road for 50m, when in fact they should have turned right. It seemed the trio missed the marshal directions and signals telling them to turn right up a steep climb instead of continuing down a flat road. 

Consequently, this opened the door for Warren Barguil (Arkéa Samsic) to power away from the competition of a 21% gradient stretch of climb, the Frenchman building up a 25 second gap behind him, which he duly took advantage of. 

Dealing with the stone-paved streets of Fermo, Barguil reached the Piazza del Popolo to cross the finish line first in an exceptional ride. 

Pogačar and Vingegaard still managed to finish a respectable sixth and seventh though, 28 seconds behind Barguil, while Evenepoel came home in ninth in the same time. 

Consequently, Pogačar still leads Evenepoel by nine seconds in the GC, with two more stages of Tirreno-Adriatico still to come over the weekend. 

Warren Barguil (Arkéa Samsic) produced an exceptional performance on the 155km stage to Fermo at Tirreno-Adriatico to win his first race of 2022.

The Frenchman attacked with 3km in the race left to go on a 750m climb at 21% gradient, leading the other riders trailing in his wake. A climbing specialist, Barguil displayed his true ability by holding onto the race lead as he grimaced through the pain and reached the finish line. 

Xandro Meurisse (Alpecin-Fenix) and Simone Velasco (Astana-Qazaqstan) both performed commendably too, rounding off the podium in Fermo, while Tadej Pogačar now leads Remco Evenepoel in the GC by nine seconds despite taking a wrong turn in the race. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

Stage five of Tirreno-Adriatico presented this year's Tappa dei Muri (Stage of the Walls), an intense 155km route with plenty of hills to test the rider's mettle, and an especially enticing double ascent to Fermo to finish. 

Before the beginning of the race though, Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers) pulled out with stomach problems, adding to the growing list of riders suffering with illness across Tirreno-Adriatico and Paris-Nice.

The opening 50km of the race featured a frenetic pace, with plenty of attacks and counter-attacks in the peloton to keep the group bunched together. Multiple riders kept attempting to create a breakaway group though, and they finally managed to make it stick after 60km. 

At this point, the race settled down, with the multiple breakaway groups coming together to form a 12-man escape across the 20km flat section mid-way through the race. Their lead eventually stretched to nearly four minutes as they hit the steep climb to Monte Urano, with Francesco Gavazzi (Eolo-Kometa) accelerating to the summit for the KOM points. 

The peloton gradually managed to bring that deficit down across the preceding 20km, with the pace quickening as they headed into the final 30km of the stage. This final part of the race gave the riders little chance to relax and take stock of the situation, with a undulating course ensuring they were either ascending or descending at all times. 

The breakaway group of Warren Barguil (Arkéa-Samsic), Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis), Nelson Oliveira (Movistar), Valentin Ferron (Total Energies), Jhonatan Restrepo (Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli), Xandro Meurisse (Alpecin-Fenix) and Simone Velasco (Astana Qazaqstan), managed to drop a couple of riders, with Thomas leading the virtual GC as a result. 

However, with 10km left in the race, the leaders lost time heading up the 2.2km climb on a 8.5% average gradient to Madona d'Ete as they failed to work together as a group, their lead dropping to 1-30. An attack by Tim Wellens (Lotto Soudal) also sped the pace of the peloton up, before Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates) took on the mantle to help out Tadej Pogačar. 

While the breakaway reached Madona d'Ete, Remco Evenpoel (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) launched from nowhere, attacking from the peloton. Unsurprisingly, Pogačar followed to ensure he would hold onto the blue leader's jersey, but this wasn't without drama. Instead of turning right up a steep climb, Pogačar, Evenepoel and Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) managed to miss a corner and all but end their hopes of catching the leading riders.

At the same time, Warren Barguil (Arkéa Samsic) opened up a gap at the front of the race in an attack for the race win - on a 750m, 21% gradient climb, no less. 

Barguil put the other riders to the sword upon reaching the summit of the most difficult climb, building up a gap of over 25 seconds, but the Frenchman still had another ascent to contend with, which he seemingly traversed with ease. 

Dealing with the stone-paved streets of Fermo, Barguil reached the Piazza del Popolo first in an exceptional ride. 

RESULTS

TIRRENO-ADRIATICO 2022, STAGE FIVE: SEFRO TO FERMO (155KM)

1. Warren Barguil (Fra) Arkéa Samsic, in 3-39-53
2. Xandro Meurisse (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix, at 10 seconds
3. Simone Velasco (Ita) Astana-Qazaqstan, at 14s
4. Nelson Oliveira (Por) Movistar, at 15s
5. Richie Porte (Aus) Ineos Grenadiers, at 26s
6. Tadej Pogačar (Sloi) UAE Team Emirates, at 28s
7. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Jumbo-Visma, at same time
8. Enric Mas (Spa) Movistar
9. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl
10. Jai Hindley (Aus) Bora-Hansgrohe

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION AFTER STAGE FIVE

1.Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE-Team Emirates in 18-17-08
2. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl at 9 secs
3. Thymen Arensman (Ned) Team DSM, at 43 secs
4. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Jumbo-Visma, at 45 secs
5. Miguel Ángel López (Col) Astana-Qazaqstan, at 1 min
6. Richie Porte (Aus) Ineos Grenadiers
7. Tao Geoghegan Hart (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers, at 1-02
8. Jai Hindley (Aus) Bora-Hansgrohe, at 1-06
9. Enric Mas (Spa) Movistar, at 1-11
10. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) Bora-Hansgrohe, at 1-14

Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal) bounced back to win stage three of Tirreno-Adriatico ahead of from Arnaud Démare (Groupama-FDJ).

Démare led the bunch into the final left-handed, tight turn 300m from home, powering ahead of his sprinting rivals on the cobbles before the diminutive figure of Caleb Ewan cleverly used his slipstream to launch of the Frenchman's back wheel. 

Olav Kooij (Jumbo-Visma) rounded off the final spot on the podium, but Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) still leads the general classification by 11 seconds over Remco Evenepoel (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl).

HOW IT HAPPENED

The riders entered the third stage of Tirreno-Adriatico expecting a fairly simple ride towards Terni across 179km of racing. Despite being an undulating route, the peloton would have expected an relatively easy race to control before culminating in a bunch sprint. 

However, Peter Sagan (Team TotalEnergies) was a notable omission from the third stage, the Slovakian rider failing to make the start line after falling ill. 

Filippo Ganna came into the stage as the leader of the general classification, 11 seconds ahead of Remco Evenepoel (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) and 17 in front of Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates). 

A breakaway group of several riders formed early into the race, with the stage's toughest climb to La Foce coming after just 30km. A 5.4km long climb averaging a 4.6 per cent gradient, Davide Bais (Eolo-Kometa) reached the top of the day's only classified climb first to extend his KOM classification lead. 

The gap between the peloton and the breakaway riders stayed steady throughout the middle portion of the race, as the riders headed towards the intermediate sprint in Amelia. Just under 30km from the finish line. Pogačar won the sprint ahead of Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates) and Julian Alaphillipe (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl), before the trio simply decided to continue their acceleration after the last uphill section of the day.

Tao Geoghegan Hart (Ineos Grenadiers) oined the breakaway group, causing some panic within the peloton as the riders worked harder than they would've desired to stop the leaders 30 seconds up the road. The technical final descent eventually saw the peloton catch up to the quartet of riders, ahead of the final, entirely flat, 13km. 

Circling the city of Terni, the peloton had to navigate some technical turns and key roundabouts, which included notable pinch points to stretch the riders out with less than 5km to go.

The lead out teams of Jumbo-Visma and TotalEnergies attempted to gain a strong foothold in the race just a couple of kilometres from the line, but it was Arnaud Démare setting the tempo heading into the final turn of the race 300m from the line, a technical left-hander. The Frenchman navigated it perfectly and seemed capable of holding on, but Caleb Ewan launched himself off the back of Démare to snatch victory with mere metres left. 

Ewan disappointingly crossed the line 15th on the second stage, unable to put up a challenge to Tim Merlier after falling out of position on the narrow run to the finale. However, the Australian managed to turn his fortunes around with his third victory of the season on the third stage today, despite suffering from mechanical issues midway through the race. 

He had to stop multiple times to have his chain reattached and then to switch bikes, but this did little to dampen Ewan's spirits as he powered to victory in the bunch sprint to Terni. 

RESULTS

TIRRENO-ADRIATICO 2022, STAGE THREE: MURLO TO TERNI (170KM)

1. Caleb Ewan (Aus) Lotto Soudal, in 4-07-24
2. Arnaud Démare (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
3. Olav Kooij (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
4. Nacer Bouhanni (Fra) Arkéa–Samsic
5. Tim Merlier (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix
6. Pascal Akermann (Ger) UAE Team Emirates
7. Phil Bauhaus (Ger) Bahrain-Victorious
8. Simone Consonni (Ita) Cofidis
9. Elia Viviani (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers
10. Matteo Moschetti (Ita) Trek-Segafredo, all at same time

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION AFTER STAGE THREE

1. Filippo Ganna (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers, in 9-48-40
2. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Quick-Step AlphaVinyl, at 11 seconds
3. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates, at 14s
4. Kasper Asgreen (Den) Quick-Step AlphaVinyl, at 24s
5. Alex Dowsett (GBr) Israel - Premier Tech, at 25s
6. Thymen Arensman (Ned) Team DSM, at 28s
7. Tobias Ludviggson (Swe) Groupama-FDJ, at 32s
8. Jos Van Emden (Ned) Jumbo-Visma, at 33s
9. Matteo Sobrero (Ita) BikeExchange-Jayco, at 39s
10. Lawson Craddock (USA) BikeExchange-Jayco, at same time

Tim Merlier (Alpecin-Fenix) won his first race of his 2022 season with his victory on the second stage of Tirreno-Adriatico, biding his time perfectly to power through the field towards the finish line. 

The Belgian emerged from behind Peter Sagan's (TotalEnergies) wheel in the closing stage, taking advantage after the Slovakian had launched himself early in an attempt to cross the line first.

Olav Kooij (Jumbo-Visma) and Kaden Groves (BikeExchange-Jayco) managed to overtake Sagan on the line too, with the three-time world champion finishing fourth. 

Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) still leads the GC after the second stage, 11 seconds ahead of Remco Evenepoel (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl). 

HOW IT HAPPENED

A hilly day with 2,150m of climbing across a 219km, stage two is the longest of this year's Tirreno-Adriatico. However, with a relatively flat finish, the stage presented plenty of opportunities for the fast men of the peloton to attack and gain an advantage on their rivals.

Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) entered the second stage as the leader of the general classification, after superbly winning the ITT on the first day with a time of 15-17. Remco Evenepoel (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl) came in ten seconds behind Ganna in second-place, while Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) only lost seven seconds to Evenepoel when he crossed the line. 

Within just 5km of the start of the race, Johnatan Cañaveral and Davide Gabburo (both Bardiani-CSF-Faizanè), Davide Bais and Francesco Gavazzi (both Eolo-Kometa), and Umberto Marengo (Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli) formed the day's breakaway, building up a gap between them and the rest of the peloton. 

The five riders maintained a regular five-minute gap until the final 50km - which went up to eight minutes at one stage - when the two Eolo-Kometa riders dropped the other three riders on the climb towards La Pineta and the following descent. 

With 20km left, Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates) and Anthony Perez (Cofidis) both attacked, successfully bridging the gap between the peloton and the breakaway riders. In fact, Soler pushed the pace solo up the final climb of the race, trying to create a gap between himself and the initial breakaway group and peloton.

The Spaniard built 30 seconds between himself and the peloton with 13km in the race left, but with the main group all working together - especially Groupama-FDJ - in the prevailing wind, his attack failed to stick, the seconds gradually coming down on the flat road. 

With Soler caught at the crucial left-hander at 2.8km to go, each team's lead-out riders started to jostle for position. Both Ganna and Daryl Impey (Israel-Premier Tech) made their attempts to pull along their quick men, but it was Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl making the most concerted surge with Davide Ballerini waiting in the wings to pounce.

However, Peter Sagan sent an early attack of his own as the course swept round to the right, only for Tim Merlier to come off his tail. Coming off the bend, the Belgian picked up the most momentum and managed to launch himself off the back of Sagan's wheel, grabbing victory in the final 50m of the day.

Both Olav Kooij (Jumbo-Visma) and Kayden Groves (BikeExchange-Jayco) managed to steal a nose on the Slovakian too, crossing the line just ahead of Sagan who tried to hold on to his podium spot as best as he can.

The result represents Merlier's first win of the season, half a year on from when he last won on the Benelux Tour at the beginning of September. Ganna maintains his first-placed position on general classification after the second stage, but with plenty more difficult climbing courses to come, expect that to all change.

RESULTS

TIRRENO-ADRIATICO 2022, STAGE TWO: CAMAIORE TO SOVICILLE (219KM)

1. Tim Merlier (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix, in 5-25-23
2. Olav Kooij (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
3. Kaden Groves (Aus) BikeExchange-Jayco
4. Peter Sagan (Svk) TotalEnergies
5. Simone Consonni (Ita) Cofidis
6. Phil Bauhaus (Ger) Bahrain-Victorious
7. Davide Ballerini (Ita) Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl
8. Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Israel-Premier Tech
9. Jacopo Guarnieri (Ita) Groupama-FDJ
10. Andrea Vendrame (Ita) AG2R Citroën Team, all at same time

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION AFTER STAGE TWO

1. Filippo Ganna (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers, in 5-40-40
2. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Quick-Step AlphaVinyl, at 11 seconds
3. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates, at 17s
4. Kasper Asgreen (Den) Quick-Step AlphaVinyl, at 24s
5. Alex Dowsett (GBr) Israel - Premier Tech, at 25s
6. Thymen Arensman (Ned) Team DSM, at 28s
7. Tobias Ludviggson (Swe) Groupama-FDJ, at 32s
8. Jos Van Emden (Ned) Jumbo-Visma, at 33s
9. Matteo Sobrero (Ita) BikeExchange-Jayco, at 39s
10. Lawson Craddock (USA) BikeExchange-Jayco, at same time

Filippo Ganna has won the opening stage one time trial of Tirreno-Adriatico 2022.

The world time trial champion rode the 13.9km-long time trial course in a time of 15-17, averaging a speed of 54.6km/h.

In second place was Remco Evenepoel (Quick-Step AlphaVinyl), 10 seconds down on the Italian, while the Belgian's GC rival Tadej Pogačar was third, seven seconds further adrift, perhaps still suffering from his exploits at Strade Bianche two days ago.

Evenepoel's team-mate Kasper Asgreen was fourth, 23 seconds in arrears to Ganna's time, just ahead of Brit Alex Dowsett (Israel - Premier Tech), who spent a lot of time in the hot seat and rounds out the top five.

How it happened

Michael Matthews (BikeExchange-Jayco) was the quickest of the first riders to set off, clocking a time of 16-08 over the 13.9km-long course, an average speed of 51.67km/h, with Josef Černy (Quick-Step AlphaVinyl) soon taking over the hot seat soon after.

But then Israel Premier Tech’s Alex Dowsett was out on the course, fastest with 7-26 at the intermediate split before going 20 seconds faster than Černy and settling into what would be a long stint in the hot seat.

Richie Porte (Ineos Grenadiers) soon came in with the fourth fastest time but no-one else was currently threatening going sub-16 minutes and challenging Dowsett. Julian Alaphilippe clocked a top-10 time at the intermediate check, then sealing the seventh fastest time so far, before Thymen Arensman (DSM), Tobias Ludvigsson (Groupama-FDJ), Jos Van Emden (Jumbo-Visma) and Ineos' Tao Geoghegan Hart all went sub-16 as the more serious time triallists began to warm-up, Remco Evenepoel looking stern and concentrated.

Soon, some heavy hitters were released out onto the course, Jumbo-Visma’s Edoardo Affini and Quick-Step’s Kasper Asgreen. Richard Carapaz (Ineos) came in provisional 10th, 22 seconds adrift, before Affini just missed out on joining the five men who’d gone under 16 minutes, with 16-01.

Asgreen would finally kick Dowsett out of the hot seat, beating him by just one second, who already knew his time there would be short-lived as world time trial champion Filippo Ganna exited the start hut. 

Jonas Vingegaard and Evenepoel were also now out on the course, as the Italian set the quickest time at the intermediate check, nine seconds faster than Dowsett.

Miguel Ángel López (Astana) put in a promising performance with a time of 15-59 to put himself in and around the top 10, before Ganna crossed in 15-17, smashing Asgreen's time.

Evenepoel then came through in second, 10 seconds down on Ganna, Pogačar not troubling these two at the time checks, but holding it together to only lose seven seconds to Evenepoel when he crossed the finish line.

Results

Tirreno-Adriatico 2022, stage one: Lido di Camaiore to Lido di Camaiore - ITT (13.9km)

1. Filippo Ganna (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers, in 15-17
2. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Quick-Step AlphaVinyl, at 10 seconds
3. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates, at 17s
4. Kasper Asgreen (Den) Quick-Step AlphaVinyl, at 23s
5. Alex Dowsett (GBr) Israel - Premier Tech, at 25s
6. Thymen Arensman (Ned) Team DSM, at 27s
7. Tobias Ludviggson (Swe) Groupama-FDJ, at 31s
8. Jos Van Emden (Ned) Jumbo-Visma, at 33s
9. Mikkel Bjerg (Den) UAE Team Emirates, at 38s
10. Matteo Sobrero (Ita) BikeExchange-Jayco, at same time

General Classification after stage one

1. Filippo Ganna (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers, in 15-17
2. Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Quick-Step AlphaVinyl, at 10 seconds
3. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates, at 17s
4. Kasper Asgreen (Den) Quick-Step AlphaVinyl, at 23s
5. Alex Dowsett (GBr) Israel - Premier Tech, at 25s
6. Thymen Arensman (Ned) Team DSM, at 27s
7. Tobias Ludviggson (Swe) Groupama-FDJ, at 31s
8. Jos Van Emden (Ned) Jumbo-Visma, at 33s
9. Mikkel Bjerg (Den) UAE Team Emirates, at 38s
10. Matteo Sobrero (Ita) BikeExchange-Jayco, at same time

The 57th Tirreno-Adriatico route covers just over 1,100 kilometres this year and unusually begins with an individual time trial, instead of finishing with one. There are tests for all kinds of riders across the seven days, from one side of Italy to the other.

With two realistic chances for the sprinters, four stages for puncheurs and aggressive climbers and that time trial to start, there are lots of opportunities.

Stage one is a pan-flat time trial of 13.9km which will settle an order in the general classification from the beginning. It consists of an out and back route around Lido di Camaiore, the traditional start town of the race.

Stage two is a hilly day, with 2150 metres of climbing across a 219km route. However, there is a relatively flat finish which could mean a chance for the faster men of the peloton.

The third day might bring a more likely chance for the sprinters, with another flat finish, but there will still be a lot of climbing during the day. The climbs of La Foce and Amelia could prove a test for the heavier men.

Stage four is the first out-and-out chance for the puncheurs or fast climbers, with the final circuit around Bellante seeing the bunch tackle the same sharp hill three times.

Stage five from Sefro to Fermo is yet another hilly affair, with two categorised climbs in the final 10km. The route over the Apennines will see the riders using their smaller gears quite often.

The biggest climbing test of the race will come on stage six, with two climbs of the Cippo di Carpegna. There are 3700 metres of altitude gain over the day, which will surely test all but the best climbers in the peloton.

Tirreno-Adriatico 2021 stages

Stage one: Lido di Camaiore > Lido di Camaiore, 13.9km

A simple time trial kicks off this year's Tirreno-Adriatico, which should set up the initial general classification. It will be a fast affair, with barely any metres of climbing along the seafront.

Stage two: Camaiore > Sovicille, 219km

Stage two is a punchy affair which might suit a breakaway staying away if the sprinters don't fancy it. However, there is a flat finish which might be the first chance for a bunch sprint.

Stage three: Murlo > Terni, 170km

Stage three has been designated by the organisers as a flat stage, but there will still be a lot of climbing for the bunch to get to before they get the opportunity to sprint in Terni.

Stage four: Cascata delle Marmore > Bellante, 202km

The fourth day will certainly will be on for the puncheurs as riders are forced to tackle the same steep climb three times in the last 40km. A tiring day in the saddle for all.

Stage five: Sefro > Fermo, 155km

Another punchy-day with short, sharp climbs all the way to the finish. In the run in there are gradients of up to 20% and the final few metres are all pretty vertical.

Stage six: Apecchio > Carpegna, 215km

The biggest climbing day of the race sees the peloton climb 3700 metres overall, which sounds similar to a Giro d'Italia stage. This will surely be the day that decides the general classification.

Stage seven: San Benedetto del Tronto > San Benedetto del Tronto, 159km

Rather than the traditional final time trial to San Benedetto del Tronto, this year's race will certainly end in a bunch sprint. The final 80km are almost pancake flat.

Filippo Ganna says that he is "human, not a robot" after losing his first time trial in over a year on the final stage of Tirreno-Adriatico 2021

Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) was expected to add yet another win to his palmarès on stage seven in San Benedetto del Tronto and continue his unbeaten run in time trials, but instead the best the world time trial champion could manage was third on the day.

The big Italian holds the record for the fastest time on the course after blitzing around in perfect conditions in late summer of 2020, with a time of 10-42 before he went on to win the world title, four Giro d'Italia stages including three ITTs, and the time trial at this year's UAE Tour.

This year Ganna was almost a minute behind his time from last year with an 11-17, finishing 11 seconds behind Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) and four behind Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ).

>>> ‘Not a bad start to the experiment’ – Wout van Aert wants to race for overall wins again after Tirreno-Adriatico podium

Speaking after the race Ganna said: “I showed that I’m human, not a robot, and that I can lose the race. My numbers were good, but every day is different."

"I think the wind was the same for everyone I immediately felt my legs weren’t great. I managed to pull back something but now we can only think to the next chance.

"I’m happier to work hard for the team for a week than win another time trial. The guys gave 100 per cent, so why should we be disappointed. We’ll have more chances to fight back. I’m not sad. Every race is different. There is always someone who can be stronger."

The last time that Ganna was beaten in a time trial was in Argentina at the Vuelta a San Juan by Remco Evenepoel (Deceuninck - Quick-Step) in early 2020, with the Italian going on to dominate every time trial he's ridden.

But, this year's Tirreno-Adriatico has been particularly hard with almost eight minutes between first and tenth, with tough weather conditions and terrain for the riders to contend with.

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Ganna averaged a huge 585 watts and maxed out on 795 watts but only averaged 52.8km/h compared to the eventual winner of the stage Van Aert, who averaged 85 watts less and only maxed out at 560 watts, but averaged 53.2km/h.

The 24-year-old Ganna now heads to the Classics and will be supporting his leaders at Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix before the Tour of the Alps and a return to the Giro d'Italia with plenty space to add more races.

Wout van Aert said Tirreno-Adriatico was “not a bad start” to his general classification experiment.

The Jumbo-Visma star was dominant in the week-long Italian stage race, winning a bunch sprint, the final time trial, and beating Tour de France winners in the GC.

Van Aert, 26, finished second overall behind reigning Tour de France champion Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), but said he will try again for a stage race victory.

Speaking after the stage seven time trial in San Benedetto del Tronto, Van Aert said: “This was the first time I went for the GC in a stage race. I am only beaten by the winner of the Tour de France. So I can say it is not a bad start of this experiment. We will try this more often in the future.

“For now the classics are the main goal. I am looking forward to competing for wins in the various monuments. I know from last year that I recover pretty well after a tough race.

“That gives me confidence going into Milan-San Remo this Saturday. I will try to defend my title, but I am not the only favourite."

The Belgian stunned on the opening stage of the 2021 Tirreno-Adriatico as he beat pure sprinters like Caleb Ewan (Lotto-Soudal) to the line in Lido di Camaiore.

Van Aert lost his race lead on stage four to Prati di Tivo, the only summit finish of the race, as Pogačar stormed to stage victory and moved into the top spot on GC.

The fifth stage to Castelfidardo came down to a fascinating battle, as Van Aert’s great rival Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) rode away to an unforgettable solo victory and Pogačar gave chase to extend his advantage over Van Aert.

Heading into the final GC test, the short 10km time trial in San Benedetto del Tronto, Van Aert was second on GC, 1-15 behind Pogacar.

He delivered another surprise in the TT as he beat the world champion Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) and European champion Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ) to the stage win, but wasn’t able to overturn his deficit to Pogačar.

On his TT performance, Van Aert said: “I am very happy with this victory and with my second place in the general classification.

“This was the ideal scenario for today. We rode around yesterday with this day in mind already. It's great to end the week like this. I am getting better and better at this discipline every year.

“Last winter we did a lot to improve our time trial. It gives me a lot of confidence that I can win in the first time trial of the year. The field was very strong. Almost all top time trialists were at the start here. I felt very good this week in the Tirreno."

Tirreno-Adriatico was the first GC test for Van Aert, as his team want to see how far he can take his talent.

>>> Five things we learned from Tirreno-Adriatico 2021

Jumbo-Visma said Van Aert, a former cyclocross world champion, Monument winner and Belgian TT champion, continues to amaze them as he beat Tour de France champions overall in Tirreno.

Golden age of stars help make for an all-time great edition of Tirreno-Adriatico

Wout van Aert; Mathieu van der Poel; Julian Alaphilippe; Tadej Pogacar. Has any Tirreno-Adriatico ever in its 56-year history, had as strong and on-form a line-up as this?

Between them, these four riders accounted for all but one of the stage wins, and did so with the kind of awesome panache that prompted many pundits to herald this as a golden age of cycling.

Even the one stage not won by one of these riders was full of excitement, as Israel Start-Up Nation’s Mads Würtz Schmidt capitalised on stage six after the peloton surprisingly failed to catch the day’s break he was part of.

Van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) was perhaps the most entertaining of all, unleashing an extraordinary attack 50km from the finish on stage five that blew the race to pieces on a memorably cold and brutal day, and earned him what might just be his best win on the road yet.

A couple of days earlier he had gained his first stage win by outsprinting his great rival Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) on an uphill finish, while the pair were both defeated on stage two’s uphill sprint by cycling’s other crowd favourite, Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-Quick-Step), a rider who is increasingly being referred to as part of an elite triumvirate with them.

Tadej Pogacar’s brilliance on the GC stages might not have made for a closely fought GC battle, but was equally thrilling to watch for its quality and aggressive panache.

With its attraction bolstered by its position in the calendar succeeding the ever-more esteemed Strade Bianche and preceding Milan-San Remo, Tirreno-Adriatico s currently one of the best races on the calendar, and looks set to continue being an arena for the stars to shine in so long as it remains a local bridge between those two Italian Classics.

Van Aert proves his stage race credentials

He might have fallen short of winning the overall classification, but Wout van Aert’s ride at Tirreno-Adriatico must surely be of the great all-round performances of recent years.

The Belgian began the race by beating top sprinters like Caleb Ewan (Lotto-Soudal) in a bunch finish, and ended it beating the European (Stefan Küng) and world (Filippo Ganna) time trial champions against the clock, and in between excelled over the climbs both short and steep and long and steady to finish second overall.

He might have gone one better and won outright had he a stronger team to support him. Unlike Jumbo-Visma’s other leaders, Van Aert didn’t have the luxury of having himself as a team-mate, and was left to his own devices on stage four’s key Prati di Tivo summit finish. He still managed to do a sterling job riding tempo up that mountain while being attacked by the purer climbers, but did lose enough time to stage winner Tadej Pogačar to lose the overall classification.

While the route’s emphasis on punchy short climbs (most notably on stage five’s ‘Tappa dei Muri’ parcours) over long and high-altitude climbs suited him more than most other stage races would, this was nevertheless proof that Van Aert can ride for GC, and surely confirms him as the best all-rounder in the men’s peloton since Sean Kelly.

Pogačar continues unstoppable start to the season

One of the most exciting things about Tadej Pogačar’s overall win at the Tour de France last year was how, as such a young man, there was no telling how great he might yet become.

And based on the way he has started the 2021 season, the Slovenian is indeed getting better and better. Having comfortably won the UAE Tour in his first appearance of the season, Pogačar was even more untouchable at Tirreno-Adriatico, claiming the leader’s blue jersey by winning the mountain top finish at Prati di Tivo with an early attack, before consolidating it by dropping everyone on the brutal Tappa dei Muro stage the following day, and finishing fourth in the final time trial.

With two WorldTour stage wins already in the bag, it looks like another procession of victories leading up to a defence of his yellow jersey at the Tour de France could be on the cards, in the manner that Team Sky used to do back in their heyday.

But there is one key rival he hasn’t yet had to defeat — his Slovenian compatriot Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma), who looked in similarly hot form at Paris-Nice last week. The two are scheduled to go head-to-head at the upcoming Tour of the Basque Country, in what will be their first stage race together since last year’s Tour de France. Right now, he’s the only man who looks capable of stopping Pogačar.

Older generation struggles to keep up

All the bright young talent taking the peloton by storm risk rendering into irrelevance the old guard, and indeed few riders older than 30 made much of an impression this week at Tirreno-Adriatico.

In particular, there’s a generation of riders born in 1990 who not long ago were the crème de la crème, but are now struggling to keep up. For instance, both Nairo Quintana (Arkéa-Samsic) and Romain Bardet (DSM) regularly found themselves dropped and only managed 12th and eighth respectively on GC, while Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) and Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) never got going at all.

Even Simon Yates (BikeExchange), who is two years younger, began to look a little creaky, suffering from cramp on stage two and being dropped on stage six, despite being the only man to come close to Pogačar at Prati di Tivo.

The one rider who did buck the trend was Mikel Landa (Bahrain-Victorious), who strung together two strong performances on both the key climbing stages to finish third overall, making him the only rider older than 26 in the top six. It’s not easy for these older riders to compete with the new generation, but Landa at least demonstrated that it’s possible.

Ineos Grenadiers’s on-road performances fail to distract from off-road controversy

Going into the race, Ineos Grenadiers looked like the team most capable of preventing another Tadej Pogačar overall victory. They were the team that came closest to defeating him at the UAE Tour with Adam Yates, and brought an even stronger line-up to Italy that included Egan Bernal and Geraint Thomas.

However, both of these riders fell out of overall contention as early as stage four, when they were dropped after attempting to work Pogačar over by attacking in tandem on the climb to Prati di Tivo.

Bernal bounced back very strongly the following day on the Tappa dei Muri to move up to fourth overall, a position which he managed to defend on the final stage time trial, but his form at Prati di Tivo suggests that, despite flashes of promise this season, he’s not yet at his 2019 form.

The news that the team’s former doctor Richard Freeman had been found guilty of purchasing banned doping products suggests Ineos Grenadiers have bigger problems, but performances on the road are a cause for concern too.

Wout van Aert took victory on the final stage of Tirreno-Adriatico 2021 in the individual time trial, beating European champion Stefan Küng and world champion Filippo Ganna on the day.

Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) took the final day time trial but was not able to take the overall title as Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) held on and took fourth on the final stage, only beaten by Van Aert, Küng (Groupama-FDJ) and Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers).

Küng held the lead for the vast majority of the day before the penultimate rider, Van Aert, crossed the line six seconds faster over the 10.1km course, taking his second win of the race.

Pogačar sealed the overall victory, best young rider's jersey, and the mountains jersey with the Slovenian beating Van Aert by 1-03 in the final general classification.

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How it happened

The final stage of Tirreno-Adriatico 2021 would once again be the now regularly featured 10.1km individual time trial around the coastal town of San Benedetto del Tronto, with Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) leading Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) by 1-15 on GC going into the final stage.

The pan-flat course on the Adriatic coast would no doubt see some fast times set with a host of accomplished time triallists among the field.

Michael Hepburn (Team BikeExchange) held the lead time for a while early on with a time of 11-33 (52.4kmh). But it was Alberto Bettiol (EF Education-Nippo) who came through eight seconds faster than Hepburn with an 11-24 (53.1kmh).

But Bettiol didn’t last long at the top as the European champion, Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ) took the lead with an excellent time of 11-12 (54.1kmh).

While Küng's time looked impressive, he still had to hope it would hold against the stage favourite and time trial world champion Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers). Küng continued to lead at the intermediate split as Ganna came through five seconds down.

Even with the Italian averaging around 550 watts after the split, he was not able to beat Küng as his time held by five seconds on the line.

Benjamin Thomas, Küng’s team-mate also pushed Ganna close, beating him at the split, but faded to 10 seconds behind Küng and five on Ganna.

British hopeful, Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) wasn’t able to emulate his fourth place in the 2020 Tirreno, slotting into eighth behind Küng.

João Almeida (Deceuninck - Quick-Step) was level on time with Ganna at the intermediate split, the Portuguese rider fully invested in the ride. He came into the finish with a very strong fifth place just 18 seconds behind Kung, meaning he moved up one place on GC ahead of Tim Wellens (Lotto-Soudal).

Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) finished way down on the day losing over 50 seconds to Küng’s time, but Wout van Aert was looking to potentially challenge the Swiss rider after going 0.2 seconds faster than him at the split.

Van Aert did just that, beating Küng by six seconds and Ganna by 11 seconds. Overall leader Tadej Pogačar also continued to show his time trial prowess, finishing just a second off of the time of Ganna and 12 behind Van Aert, safely defending his blue jersey to take his first victory at Tirreno-Adriatico.

Pogačar took victory by 1-03 over Van Aert in second and a 3-57 gap back to third place, Mikel Landa (Bahrain Victorious).

Results

Tirreno-Adriatico 2021, stage seven: San Benedetto del Tronto (10.1km, ITT)

1. Wout van Aert (Bel) Team Jumbo-Visma, in 11-06

2. Stefan Küng (Sui) Groupama-FDJ, at 6 seconds

3. Filippo Ganna (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers, at 11s

4. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates, at 12s

5. Benjamin Thomas (Fra) Groupama-FDJ, at 16s

6. Alberto Bettiol (Ita) EF Education-Nippo, at 18s

7. João Almeida (Por) Deceuninck - Quick-Step, at 24s

8. Kasper Asgreen (Den) Deceuninck - Quick-Step, at 26s

9. Michael Hepburn (Aus) Team BikeExchange, at 27s

10. Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) Groupama-FDJ, at 28s

Final general classification

1. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates, in 26-36-17

2. Wout van Aert (Bel) Team Junbo-Visma, at 1-03

3. Mikel Landa (Esp) Bahrain Victorious, at 3-57

4. Egan Bernal (Col) Ineos Grenadiers, at 4-13

5. Matteo Fabbro (Ita) Bora-Hangrohe, at 4-37

6. João Almeida (Por) Deceuninck - Quick-Step, at 4-54

7. Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto-Soudal, at 5-00

8. Romain Bardet (Fra) Team DSM, at 5-50

9. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Trek-Segafredo, at 6-30

10. Simon Yates (GBr) Team BikeExchange, at 7-45

Mathieu van der Poel’s dad says the Dutch star still has the ability to surprise him after his unforgettable solo victory in Tirreno-Adriatico. 

Alpecin-Fenix rider Van der Poel launched a huge 50km attack on stage five of the Italian stage race, saying he only rode away from his rivals because he was cold. 

Despite a spirited chase by race leader Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates), who was able to close down Van der Poel but not take the stage, it was the cyclocross world champion who held on to take his second victory in the 2021 edition.

Van der Poel’s father Adrie, a former cyclocross world champion and Tour of Flanders winner, said he believes the attack was the best of his son’s career so far. 

Adrie recently put together a list of Mathieu’s best victories, including his recent glory in Strade Bianche, but after stage five of Tirreno-Adriatico he has reconsidered his choices. 

In an article Belgian newspaper Het Nieuwsblad, Adrie said: “What Mathieu did yesterday in the Tirreno is by far his best ride ever. In this field, with this weather, on that course, with such a final and then standing against the best riders in the world - he can still surprise me.” 

Van der Poel launched his attack with 50km remaining of the 205km stage from Castellalto to Castelfidardo, pulling out a three-minute advantage in biting cold and rainy conditions. 

As the peloton fell to pieces behind on a challenging finishing course, Tadej Pogačar then launched his own solo attack from a chasing group behind, as the Slovenian extended his overall lead to Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma).

Van der Poel very narrowly held on to the stage victory, as Pogačar finished just 10 seconds behind, cementing his lead with just two stages left to race. 

Meanwhile Van der Poel’s great rival Van Aert has been targeting a different result in Italy, as he tests his form in the general classification for the first time.

While Van Aert wasn’t able to match up to Pogačar on the undulating course on stage five, he still remains in second place ahead of other established Grand Tour riders like Egan Bernal and Geraint Thomas. 

>>> The reason for Mathieu van der Poel’s solo attack at Tirreno-Adriatico? ‘Because I was cold’

Van Aert’s team said the Belgian continues to amaze, as he competes against former Tour de France champions.

The 26-year-old also won the opening stage in a remarkable bunch sprint.     

Cherie Pridham didn’t have to wait long before celebrating her first victory as a WorldTour sports director. 

Former pro Pridham made history earlier this year when she became the first woman to take on a sports director role in a men’s WorldTour squad with Israel Start-Up Nation. 

After taking up her seat behind the wheel of the team car earlier this month,  Pridham has been guiding the Israeli WorldTour squad through an unforgettable edition of Tirreno-Adriatico, a prestigious Italian stage race that is both a preparation race for bigger goals and a significant target for teams in its own right. 

After the opening five stages were dominated by just four star riders, stage six came down to a five-rider breakaway sprint, with Mads Würtz Schmidt taking the biggest win of his career for ISN. 

The team have since shared a video of the emotional celebration from inside the team car, as Pridham took her first victory as a DS since joining the men’s WorldTour. 

Pridham, a former pro who has a long history of running men’s teams, recently announced the closure of her British Continental squad Vitus Pro Cycling, after 11 years of running Conti outfits, as she joined the WorldTour. 

Announcing her new role last December, Pridham said: “I feel truly proud and privileged to be the first woman to serve as a sports director at the WorldTour level, joining one of the best teams in the world and being entrusted with great and legendary riders.

“So, for me, I want to get it right because when I do, I know that it will inspire others to take the same journey and that really does mean something to me.”

On stage one of Tirreno-Adriatico Pridham guided Israeli rider Guy Niv through the day’s breakaway, and while ISN were not able to compete for the win, the squad acknowledged the efforts of both Niv and Pridham.

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Speaking after the opening stage, Pridham said: “Guy did a fantastic job in the breakaway all day, and it also allowed me to get back into the heart of things. I had a little bit of apprehension, of course, but I had to put it away pretty quickly.”    

Mads Würtz Schmidt took victory on stage six of Tirreno-Adriatico 2021, out-sprinting the rest of his breakaway partners after the break managed to hold off the peloton all the way to the line.

Würtz Schmidt (Israel Start-Up Nation) was the fastest and the strongest out of the five riders in the original break with Brent Van Moer (Lotto-Soudal) and Simone Velasco (Gazprom-RusVelo) filling the remaining podium slots at the finish.

The escape took a while to go at the start of the stage and the pace was high throughout, but the six-man break worked well together and managed to hold off the peloton by over a minute, with Würtz Schmidt able to triumph in the sprint.

Behind the peloton was led in by former Belgian champion, Tim Merlier (Alpecin-Fenix) ahead of Davide Ballerini (Deceuninck - Quick-Step) and Elia Viviani (Cofidis).

Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) holds onto the overall lead by 1-15 over Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) going into the final stage.

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How it happened

Stage six of Tirreno-Adriatico 2021 started in the town of Castelraimondo before heading over a few lumps and bumps on the roads then finishing on the coast at Lido di Fermo where the race took on laps of the finishing circuit, finishing after 169km.

The break went away with Würtz Schmidt, Velasco, Jan Bakelants (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert), Emils Liepins (Trek-Segafredo), Van Moer and Nelson Oliveira (Movistar Team) and got a maximum gap of around seven minutes.

Back in the bunch the pace was high all day with Deceuninck - Quick-Step, UAE Team Emirates, Total Direct Energie, and Alpecin-Fenix all working hard for their leaders and sprinters which saw the time gap start to tick down.

With 50km to go, though, Eolo-Kometa came to the front to try and drag the break back after missing it, as the gap continued to drop.

21km to go saw a mechanical for Mikel Landa (Bahrain-Victorious) with his whole team sitting up and waiting for the rider who is third overall.

Meanwhile, the break’s advantage was going up as the peloton seemed to give up the chase, with the gap rising to 2-46 with 20km to go. Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ) went on the attack moments later to try and bridge to the riders at the head of the race.

UAE Team Emirates returned to the front with 15km to go along with Cofidis, Movistar and DSM, but the gap was still over two minutes to the break.

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Oliveira started drilling the pace in the break with 9km to go as they hit the 2km climb on the final lap of the finishing circuit, dropping the Latvian sprinter, Liepins. Further back Küng was reeled in by the chasing peloton.

As Küng was caught, Natnael Tesfatsion (Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec) attacked along with Luxembourgish champion Kevin Geniets (Groupama-FDJ) with 8km to go with a 1-50 gap to close, but they were brought back with 2.5km to go.

The break made it to the line with Oliveira opening up the sprint early but it was Würtz Schmidt who came over the top holding off Van Moer and Velasco to take his first victory on the road that wasn't a time trial.

Pogačar holds onto the overall lead by 1-15 over Van Aert going into the final stage time trial around San Benedetto del Tronto.

Results

Tirreno-Adriatico 2021, stage six: Castelraimondo - Lido di Fermo (169km)

1. Mads Würtz Schmidt (Den) Israel Start-Up Nation, in 3-42-09

2. Brent Van Moer (Bel) Lotto-Soudal

3. Simone Velasco (Ita) Gazprom-RusVelo

4. Jan Bakelants (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux

5. Nelson Oliveira (Por) Movistar Team, all at same time

6. Emils Liepins (Lat) Trek-Segafredo, at 25 seconds

7. Tim Merlier (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix, at 1-09

8. Davide Ballerini (Ita) Deceuninck - Quick-Step

9. Elia Viviani (Ita) Cofidis

10. Max Kanter (Ger) Team DSM, all at same time

General classification after stage six

1. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates, in 26-24-59

2. Wout van Aert (Bel) Team Jumbo-Visma, at 1-15

3. Mikel Landa (Esp) Bahrain Victorious, at 3-00

4. Egan Bernal (Col) Ineos Grenadiers, at 3-30

5. Matteo Fabbro (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe, at 3-54

6. Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto-Soudal, at 4-30

7. João Almeida (Por) Deceuninck - Quick-Step, at 4-42

8. Romain Bardet (Fra) Team DSM, at 5-03

9. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Trek-Segafredo, at 5-54

10. Simon Yates (GBr) Team BikeExchange, at 6-58

Wout van Aert "continues to amaze" as he has held is own against multiple Tour de France champions in Tirreno-Adriatico.

The Belgian has conceded that he can no longer close the gap to current leader Tadej Pogačar with two stages remaining, but his impressive performance on general classification may be a sign of things to come.

Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) started Tirreno-Adriatico with the intention of going for the overall classification as he looks to potentially change his future aims.

Despite his reputation as a cyclocross star, a Classics specialist and now a formidable sprinter, Van Aert has been holding his own against former Tour de France winners Pogačar, Egan Bernal and Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers).

The star rider started well sits with victory on the opening stage and is second overall at the start of stage six, but is more than a minute behind Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) after a huge attack by the Slovenian on stage five.

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Speaking after the fifth stage Van Aert said: "It was really hard once we hit the final circuit, especially with the rain, it was a bit like the 'survival of the fittest'... In the last climb, Tadej [Pogačar] was stronger on the climbs, I tried to stay as close as possible.

"I think I lost quite a bit of time again, but I'm secure in second place. I gave everything I had and the strongest came in front today."

Van Aert now sits at 1-15 behind Pogačar in second overall in the general classification with a flat stage and a short time trial left to race.

While Van Aert has shown he could win both he doesn't think he can pull back the Slovenian: "It’s no shame to be beaten by Tadej uphill. I’m not going to make up the difference of 1-15 in a possible sprint on Monday and a short time trial on Tuesday. The next two days I can still go for stage wins. I still have the motivation for that."

Coming into Tirreno-Adriatico Van Aert's team, Jumbo-Visma, were interested to see how he did as a GC rider, with sports director Merijn Zeeman saying that the team were curious as to how he does.

Zeeman said on the In Het Wiel podcast that the team was not expecting Van Aert to achieve a podium with the line-up that he was up against in the race: "We had included Tirreno-Adriatico in his program to let him gain experience as a classification rider, to see how far he can get. But with this course and that field of participants, we never expected to compete for the podium. In the future, now that it is clear that Wout can participate in stage races of up to a week for an overall win, we will take this into account even more in the composition."

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But Zeeman said that Van Aert will continue to focus on races like Milan-San Remo, Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix for now before potentially focussing on Grand Tours in the future, much like what Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) did after taking the Classic E3 Harelbeke and later going on to win the Tour de France.

Zeeman continued: "How far can he get in a Grand Tour? I'm not going to venture into that. Wout is an extremely great talent and he continues to amaze us in all areas, like this week in which he still competes against three Tour winners, among others.

"Where he can end up will depend on the course. In a Grand Tour with a lot of time trial kilometres he will gain more advantage than in a Grand Tour with a lot of steep cols."

Mathieu van der Poel has made a habit so far this season of winning when he says he won't, but today he didn't need an excuse as he set off on a 50km solo attack to claim stage five of Tirreno-Adriatico. The sooner he was across the line the sooner he was out of the miserable weather.

"I attacked from afar because I was cold. I still felt good up to twenty kilometres to go," Van der Poel said after the stage, as good a reason as any to win when you've won as much as the Dutchman already has in his career.

It nearly didn't happen, however, as Van der Poel was nearly out-Van-der-Poel-ed by Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) who came close to closing a three-minute deficit inside the final 20km, falling just short as he finished only 10 seconds behind the Alpecin-Fenix star.

"In the last kilometers I was completely empty," Van der Poel said of how quickly he was losing ground to the Tour de France champion in the finale. "I was told that Pogačar was coming, but I was not even able to listen. I just wanted to get to the finish line as quickly as possible."

As for Pogačar, another stage win would only have been the cherry on top, his primary objective being to put more time into his closest rival on GC, Jumbo-Visma's Wout van Aert.

"I only thought about my classification, not about the stage victory", Pogačar said afterwards, having increased his lead from 35 seconds to 1-15.

"I chose to attack [where I did] because I saw that there was an opportunity to drop Wout van Aert. Despite the icy cold I had good legs and that's why I tried. I am very happy with that. I never thought that I would get so close to Van der Poel."

Pogačar isn't celebrating just yet, with his Slovenian compatriot Primož Roglič losing the Paris-Nice overall on the final stage in dramatic circumstances, the UAE Team Emirates rider knows that until he's on the top step of the final podium, the job isn't yet completed.

"Anything can still happen, but I hope everything will go well until the end. I am very happy with the lead I have over Wout for the time trial, but I will have to stay focused until the finish of that final time trial."

Even the dismal weather couldn't dampen the spectacle on offer at Tirreno-Adriatico, as Mathieu van der Poel pulled off a magnificent solo win, holding off race leader Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) to take the stage five victory.

Such was the effort to keep the Tour de France champion at bay, the Dutchman crossed the finish line head hanging over his handlebars, no energy left to celebrate, collapsing to the floor past the finish line and staying there.

Van der Poel had gone solo from 50km out after pushing the issue consistently, his 20-minute GC deficit enough to allow him up the road in pursuit of stage glory.

Pogačar soon made his own move, however, looking to distance Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) on the punchy finishing circuit to extend his lead before the final time trial.

Although Pogačar's ride was formidable, he hadn't set off in pursuit of Van der Poel, but his effort brought him within 10 seconds of the Dutchman after nearly closing the two-minute gap, eventually settling for second place as he put more than 40 seconds into Van Aert, now leading the Belgian in the overall by 1-15.

The riders were dead behind the eyes as they warmed-down after the stage, a lasting image of what was yet another incredible day of racing at the start of the 2021 season.

How it happened

Church bells rang out in Castellalto as the riders lined up to set off for stage five on Sunday, readying themselves for a windy, wet and cold day culminating in four and a half laps of a circuit featuring a 1.5km-long 10.1 per cent finishing climb to the town of Castelfidardo.

Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers), Davide Ballerini (Deceuninck-QuickStep), Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious),Robert Stannard (BikeExchange) and Jonas Rickaert (Alpecin-Fenix) eventually got off the front, the first half of the stage flat, with Ganna averaging 370w and 55.3km/h in the first hour of racing.

The break soon had a gap of four minutes, losing a minute as they entered the finishing circuit with 90km to go.

Their advantage continued to come down, as Valentin Madouas (Groupama-FDJ) and Chris Juul-Jensen (BikeExchange) jumped away from the peloton, Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) dropping out the back and the rain started to fall as the two poursuivants were brought back into the fold.

The action then began in the peloton, Van der Poel pushing on with Wout van Aert, Tadej Pogačar and Julian Alaphilippe before the world champion started struggling, perhaps stuck in the wrong gear.

Rickaert and Ballerini were soon dropped from the break, as Van der Poel had thinned the bunch down to around 10 riders, and then it was day over for the break as the Dutchman attacked to catch and pass them.

Van der Poel pulled on the front of this amalgated break for a couple of kilometres before the GC guys behind made contact again, the group size swelling to around 20, with Bernal the next to attack, Higuita, Pogačar and Van Aert closing the move down, Van der Poel taking a backseat this time.

The quintet pushed on, around 10 seconds ahead of a larger chase group, and as they started to come back Van der Poel set off once again.

Pogačar then suffered a mechanical, but got back on just fine, with Van der Poel 20 seconds ahead with under 50km remaining.

This was soon 35 seconds, as Van Aert jumped ahead at the finish line to take a second back off Pogačar. The suffering was real now, Jakob Fuglsang (Astana) looking utterly miserable as he found himself in a group chucked off the back of a peloton now being led by Davide Formolo, the Italian trying to hold things together for Pogačar.

Van der Poel's gap was over a minute with 40km to go, before taking another minute over the next 10km. Behind, Egan Bernal had a scary moment as he battled with his rain jacket, the riders feeling the cold now.

An attack by Tim Wellens (Lotto Soudal) momentarily split the chase group before Astana's Fabio Felline put in a dig, Marc Soler (Movistar) and Alessandro de Marchi (Israel Start-Up Nation) following him.

Van der Poel had more than three minutes inside the final 20km, and with 17km to the line Tadej Pogačar launched his attack. Wout van Aert couldn't respond, as Landa got on the Belgian's wheel who fought against the gradient in vain to try and get back on terms.

The Slovenian had soon caught Felline and Soler, starting to eat into Van der Poel's advantage, leaving those two riders behind in to the final 10km.

They soon had new company in Van Aert, though, who wasn't giving up, 30 seconds behind Pogačar. 7km to go and Van der Poel had 1-30 over Pogačar, another 15 seconds taken back over the next 2km.

With 3km to go the gap was under a minute, Van der Poel suffering after his monumental solo effort, Van Aert 40 seconds back. 30 seconds to go with 2km remaining, 20 seconds at the flamme rouge...Pogačar looked like he may be about to out-Van-der-Poel Van der Poel but the Dutchman clung on, just, to cross the line 10 seconds ahead.

Difficult to judge who'd pulled off the better ride, but both riders had achieved what they'd set out to, Pogačar extending his GC lead to more than a minute over Van Aert as Van der Poel lay crumpled on the floor.

Results

Tirreno-Adriatico 2021, stage five: Castellalto to Castelfidardo (205km)

1. Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) Alpecin-Fenix, in 4-48-17

2. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates, at 10 seconds

3. Wout van Aert (Bel) Jumbo-Visma, at 49s

4. Fabio Felline (Ita) Astana - Premier Tech, at 1-26

5. Egan Bernal (Col) Ineos Grenadiers, at 2-07

6. Davide Formolo (Ita) UAE Team Emirates, at same time

7. Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Soudal, at 2-18

8. Alessandro De Marchi (Ita) Israel Start-Up Nation, at same time

9. Mikel Landa (Esp) Bahrain-Victorious, at 2-25

10. Matteo Fabbro (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe, at 2-45

General classification after stage five

1. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates, in 22-41-41

2. Wout van Aert (Bel) Jumbo-Visma, at 1-15

3. Mikel Landa (Esp) Bahrain-Victorious, at 3-00

4. Egan Bernal (Col) Ineos Grenadiers, at 3-30

5. Matteo Fabbro (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe, at 3-54

6. Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto Soudal, at 4-30

7. João Almeida (Por) Deceuninck - Quick-Step, at 4-42

8. Romain Bardet (Fra) DSM, at 5-03

9. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Trek-Segafredo, at 5-54

10. Simon Yates (GBr) BikeExchange, at 6-58

Despite losing time after being caught behind a crash on stage three and eventually distanced after spending his energy on the offensive on the slopes to the summit finish of stage four, Geraint Thomas is happy with where he's at in Tirreno-Adriatico as he works towards the Tour de France this summer.

"I'm better than I expected [I would be] here," the Ineos Grenadiers rider said after the stage, having come in a minute behind new race leader Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) and now sitting 1-25 in 10th spot in the overall classification.

"In January I was just sort of riding around Gran Canaria, getting the hours in, not too much intensity, so I've already moved on a lot this past month and it's nice just to be in the mix and just race a bit differently."

After Bernal had tried to jump off the front in the closing kilometres, the Welshman hit out, then jumping onto Pogačar's wheel for a few minutes before the Slovenian soloed away to victory.

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"I didn't want to pull on the front, I thought Egan was better today, so I thought rather than pull on the front I'd attack and make Van Aert or whoever chase me. Unfortunately, Egan didn't quite have the legs, but for me, I'm happy with where I'm at, on track for July really.

"Bonus was finishing in time for the second half of the Wales rugby game."

It was a good day out in Italy for Britain, though, as back home the sport reels from the Dr Richard Freeman guilty verdict, with Simon Yates (BikeExchange) finishing second on the stage, unable to close down Pogačar despite his best efforts.

Meanwhile, EF Education-Nippo's Simon Carr continues to impress, finishing eighth on the stage and moving up to the same place in the overall classification, only a minute down on Pogačar.

Tadej Pogačar held off Simon Yates on the summit finish climb to take stage four and the overall lead at Tirreno-Adriatico.

The Slovenian attacked on the slopes to the summit finish, Yates (BikeExchange) soon setting off in pursuit but unable to bridge the gap as the UAE Team Emirates rider continued his strong start to the season.

After Yates came across the line six seconds after Pogačar, Sergio Higuita (EF-Nippo) led the remnants of the GC over the finish 29 seconds in arrears.

Geraint Thomas had tried his own move before attempting to stick with Pogačar's attack, while Bernal also made a move beforehand, but the Ineos duo lost more time as they attempted to claw some back in the overall classification, as did world champion Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck - Quick-Step).

Pogačar now leads Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) and Sergio Higuita by 35 seconds, the Belgian putting in a strong showing on the climb, leading from the front to try and protect his leader's jersey, and has kept himself within touching distance ahead of a punchy stage five that should entertain and the final stage seven time trial.

How it happened

Mattia Bais (Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec) and Mads Würtz Schmidt (Israel Start-Up Nation) were the first two on the offensive after the flag drop, Benjamin Thomas (Groupama-FDJ) and Emil Vinjebo (Qhubeka-Assos) soon joining them. They soon had an advantage of 4-20 as the peloton settled in.

After Vinjebo was momentarily distanced, Marco Canola (Gazprom-RusVelo) also chased up to make it a move of five and after 40km of racing, they had a gap of nine minutes.

Things were calm a UAE Team Emirates and Jumbo-Visma controlled the peloton. At 50km to go the break split up the HC-category Passo Capanelle, with Vinjebo and Canola dropping off as Bahrain-Victorious moved to the front.

Würtz Schmidt then went off alone, reaching the summit first before Thomas and Bais got back on. Their advantage was down to four minutes with 15km to go and approaching the final climb to the finish.

Thomas soon attacked the leaders, Würtz Schmidt able to follow and Bais dropped, Vinjebo and Canola caught by the peloton as they started the ascent.

Van der Poel was dropped as Ineos took it up on the front, Würtz Schmidt attacking as the peloton brought the escapees' gap down to around the three-minute mark, Giulio Ciccone (Trek-Segafredo) making his own move, jumping off the front of the peloton behind.

Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) was the next casualty, distanced from the bunch, Ilnur Zakarin (GazProm-RusVelo) soon following suit.

Ineos still had numbers on the front as Egan Bernal eyed moving up the GC, as Pogačar's last man Davide Formolo dropped.

Würtz Schmidt was still out ahead, Ciccone reeled back in, before Bernal launched his attack with 8km remaining. Pogačar responded well, riding up from a few wheels back and followed by Mikel Landa. Van Aert soon led the rest of the GC group back as Würtz Schmidt's gap was down to under two minutes.

Geraint Thomas then had a dig, Bais reeled in now, as the GC group was whittled down further to the main men. Thomas pushed on as Van Aert led the chase behind, catching Thomas from the break and Würtz Schmidt now only a minute up the road, with 6km to go.

Pogačar then attacked with Thomas in sight, the Brit hanging onto the Slovenian, catching Würtz Schmidt before dropping the Ineos rider and going off alone.

Bernal then responded, hitting out again and taking Yates and Landa with him. Pogačar's advantage was now 15 seconds as Alaphilippe was dropped.

The race had exploded, Higuita, Quintana and Almeida chasing Bernal, as Van Aert chased them, the groups slowly coming back together before Yates attacked, setting off in pursuit of the Tour de France champion.

The Brit soon was only 10 seconds behind Pogačar, but the Slovenian held firm, the main GC group now 20 seconds further in arrears. Thomas and Bernal had been distanced, paying for their earlier efforts, the Colombian waiting up to help his team-mate.

Yates just couldn't quite close the gap as Pogačar sailed across the line to take the stage win and the overall lead, and will now defend it on a tricky stage tomorrow before trying to hold off Wout van Aert, 35 seconds behind, in the final time trial.

Results

Tirreno-Adriatico 2021, stage four: Terni to Prati di Tivo (148km)

1. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates, in 3-51-24

2. Simon Yates (GBr) BikeExchange, at six seconds

3. Sergio Higuita (Col) EF Education-Nippo, at 29s

4. Mikel Landa (Esp) Bahrain-Victorious, at same time

5. Nairo Quintana (Col) Arkéa-Samsic, at 31s

6. João Almeida (Por) Deceuninck - Quick-Step, at 35s

7. Matteo Fabbro (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe, at 42s

8. Simon Carr (GBr) EF Education-Nippo, at same time

9. Wout van Aert (Bel) Jumbo-Visma, at 45s

10. Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana - Premier Tech, at same time

General classification after stage four

1. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates, in 17-53-21

2. Wout van Aert (Bel) Jumbo-Visma, at 35 seconds

3. Sergio Higuita (Col) EF Education-Nippo, at same time

4. Mikel Landa (Esp) Bahrain-Victorious, at 38s

5. Nairo Quintana (Col) Arkéa-Samsic, at 41s

6. João Almeida (Por) Deceuninck - Quick-Step, at 45s

7. Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana - Premier Tech, at 55s

8. Simon Carr (GBr) EF Education-Nippo, at 1-03

9. Matteo Fabbro (Ita) Bora-Hansgrohe, at 1-12

10. Geraint Thomas (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers, at 1-25

Mathieu van der Poel took stage three of Tirreno-Adriatico 2021 ahead of overall leader, Wout van Aert thanks to his immense acceleration after the final corner.

Van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) joins Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) and Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck - Quick-Step) in getting a stage win at this year's race in another intense uphill sprint finish.

The stage looked like it could go to the breakaway at around the halfway point with the gap up at around 9-30 before Van der Poel's team started the chase to gradually bring the riders back with around 5km to go.

Van Aert keeps his overall lead ahead of Van der Poel by just four seconds going into the big mountain stage up to the Pradi di Tivo tomorrow.

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How it happened

Stage two of Tirreno-Adriatico started off in the town of Monticiano before then taking in a hilly route over to Gualdo Tadino over 219km.

A five-man break went up the road early on and included Tobias Ludvigsson (Groupama-FDJ), Mark Padun (Bahrain Victorious), Guillaume Boivin (Israel Start-Up Nation), Niki Terpstra (Total Direct Energie), and Davide Bais (Eolo-Kometa). The break managed to establish a gap of just over nine and a half minutes at its peak.

It was Mathieu van der Poel who decided to hit the front of the peloton with 98km to go as he and his team tried to create a split in the crosswinds, but no other team was keen to go with it.

Meanwhile, Caleb Ewan (Lotto-Soudal) was dropped out of the back of the peloton with the Australian rider needing sugary drinks and food as he struggled to get back in before being forced to abandon with illness

Other members of the peloton then decided to work with Alpecin-Fenix as Ineos Grenadiers, Deceuninck - Quick-Step and Bora-Hansgrohe were all almost sprinting to try and split the peloton with 95km to go, bringing the break's gap right down to five and a half minutes.

Not many riders got dropped out of the peloton with just a couple of small groups finding their way back into the main bunch with 92km to go.

The pace then dropped again with the gap heading back up to six minutes before Alpecin-Fenix returned to the front to try and keep the gap down with 50km to go.

A few kilometres later Alpecin-Fenix were joined by Deceuninck - Quick-Step with Jumbo-Visma just sat behind as the gap came down to three and half minutes with 41km to go.

The two team’s continued with just one rider each on the front until 11km to go when various teams started to come up to control the pace and protect their leaders. Both Ludvigsson and Bais dropped back from the break into the peloton leaving three riders up the road.

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Several riders went down in a crash with just over 3km to go including the likes of Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ), before the break was caught about 200 metres later.

After that the pace rocketed as Jumbo-Visma took full control with Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert and BikeExchange challenging for the lead when they headed under the flamme rouge.

It was Deceuninck - Quick-Step who led into the closing moments of the stage though, with Julian Alaphilippe letting the wheel go of his team-mate, Zdeněk Štybar, in the final 500 metres. That forced Wout van Aert to drag the Czech rider back on his own with Van der Poel sat on the wheel going into the final corner.

After catching Štybar they came around the final bend and Van der Poel kicked hard with a vicious acceleration, making sure he held off the sprint of Van Aert to take victory.

Van Aert does hold onto the blue leaders jersey going into stage four, but it is arguably the hardest of the stages with it being the only major mountain stage of the entire race.

Results

Tirreno-Adriatico 2021, stage three: Monticiano to Gualdo Tadino (219km)

1. Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) Alpecin-Fenix, in 5-24-18

2. Wout van Aert (Bel) Team Jumbo-Visma

3. Davide Ballerini (Ita) Deceuninck - Quick-Step

4. Sergio Higuita (Col) EF Education-Nippo

5. Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) Ag2r La Mondiale-Citroën

6. Jasper De Buyst (Bel) Lotto-Soudal

7. Iván García Cortina (Esp) Movistar Team

8. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates

9. Gonzalo Serrano (Esp) Movistar Team

10. Hugo Hofstetter (Fra) Israel Start-Up Nation, all at same time

General classification after stage three

1. Wout van Aert (Bel) Team Jumbo-Visma, in 14-01-47

2. Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) Alpecin-Fenix, at 4 seconds

3. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Deceuninck - Quick-Step, at 10s

4. Mikel Landa (Esp) Bahrain Victorious, at 19s

5. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates, at 20s

6. Robert Stannard (Aus) Team BikeExchange

7. João Almeida (Por) Deceuninck - Quick-Step

8. Sergio Higuita (Col) EF Education-Nippo

9. Jasper De Buyst (Bel) Lotto-Soudal

10. Patrick Konrad (Aut) Bora-Hansgrohe, all at same time

World champion Julian Alaphilippe held off Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert to raise his arms in victory on stage two of Tirreno-Adriatico 2021.

Alaphilippe (Deceuninck - Quick-Step) timed his sprint to perfection to win ahead of his two main rivals Van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) and Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) in the uphill finish at Chiusdino.

The final 50km flew by with multiple attacks from some of the biggest names in the race including Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers), before a group of four riders got away including defending champion, Simon Yates (BikeExchange), João Almeida (Deceuninck - Quick-Step), Pavel Sivakov (Ineos Grenadiers) and Mikel Landa (Bahrain Victorious). Almeida was last man standing as he was caught by the Alaphilippe-led bunch in the final few hundred metres of the stage, with his team-mate able to hold his sprint to the line and claim victory.

Van Aert keeps his overall lead and takes four bonus seconds in the sprint finish.

>>> Peter Sagan says he’s ‘getting back the race rhythm’ after forced coronavirus break

How it happened

Stage two of Tirreno-Adriatico saw an undulating course start in Camaiore before taking on 226km with an uphill finish to Chiusdino.

The day's main break was made up of the mountains jersey wearer Vincenzo Albanese (Eolo-Kometa), Marcus Burghardt (Bora-Hansgrohe) Simon Pellaud (Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec), John Archibald (Eolo-Kometa), Simone Velasco (Gazprom-RusVelo), and Pieter Vanspeybrouck (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert).

The gap to the break went out to about four minutes before it was taken down and kept at 2-30 for much of the day by the Jumbo-Visma led peloton.

With 50km to go, the pace started to rocket with the riders starting to clim the main hills of the day. Jumbo-Visma continued to look after the overall leader, Wout van Aert at the front of the peloton along with several other teams that tried to keep their main men at the head of proceedings.

With 44km to go the peloton had pulled the gap right down to the breakaway up the road to 14 seconds.

Niccolò Bonifazio (Total Direct Energie) then set off flying down a descent catching the break with 35km to go before hitting the first categorised climb, with Albanese having a mechanical at the start of the climb.

Michał Kwiatkowski (Ineos Grenadiers) started upping the pace with his team-mate, Egan Bernal, attacking over the top followed by Kasper Asgreen (Deceuninck - Quick-Step) and Jasper De Buyst (Lotto-Soudal), with Gianni Vermeersch (Alpecin-Fenix) and Sergio Higuita (EF Education-Nippo) trying to counter across the gap.

That counter-attack was joined by Marc Soler (Movistar), Quinn Simmons (Trek-Segafredo) and Patrick Konrad (Bora-Hansgrohe). Vermeersch then fell away and replaced by Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious), Tim Wellens (Lotto-Soudal), and Andrey Zeits (BikeExchange).

Attacks continued to pepper the peloton with Mathieu van der Poel and Van Aert both relatively isolated at the front of the bunch with 31km to go.

Simon Yates (BikeExchange) bridged to the first group and straight across to the front riders with João Almeida (Deceuninck - Quick-Step), dragging the rest of the new break up to the front.

It was UAE Team Emirates who helped Jumbo-Visma to drag the riders back before Pavel Sivakov (Ineos Grenadiers) went up the road joined by Mikel Landa (Bahrain Victorious), Yates and Almeida who quickly pulled out 30 seconds.

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Behind, with 20km to go, the peloton was being led by Tobias Foss (Jumbo-Visma) with Van Aert on his wheel and no other team-mates near their overall leader. It took another 5km before Foss and Van Aert were joined by another team-mate, Timo Roosen.

With 6km to go UAE Team Emirates moved back to the front to try and work for their main man, Tadej Pogačar with Rafał Majka, Davide Formolo and Jan Polanc working for the Tour de France champion as they hit the final climb.

Yates sat up from the break with 1.8km to go to return to the peloton as Sivakov tried a move, quickly followed by a counter by Almeida. Both Sivakov and Landa were able to just about follow as they headed into the final kilometre.

Yates then was dropped straight out of the back of the peloton as Almeida kicked again and dropped his fellow breakaway partners.

Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) tried to go on his trademark last kilometre attack behind but it only acted as the perfect lead-out for his rivals.

Almeida managed to hold on up until about 200 metres to go when his team-mate, Alaphilippe, flew past him along with the rest of the remaining peloton.

The world champion was followed in the wheels by Van Aert who was struggling to make gains on him, before Van der Poel made a late surge on the right-hand side of the road. The Dutch champion ran out of road and had to settle for second place as Alaphilippe celebrated across the line.

Yates, who was in the lead group with 1.8km to go, finished in 63rd place 1-22 down on the winner.

Stage three sees another undulating stage with a similar finish that will likely see the same riders at the front at stage two.

Results

Tirreno-Adriatico 2021, stage two: Camaiore - Chiusdino (226km)

1. Julian Alaphilipp (Fra) Deceuninck - Quick-Step, in 5-01-32

2. Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) Alpecin-Fenix

3. Wout van Aert (Bel) Team Jumbo-Visma

4. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates

5. Alex Aranburu (Esp) Astana-Premier Tech

6. Robert Stannard (Aus) Team BikeExchange

7. João Almeida (Por) Deceuninck - Quick-Step

8. Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) Ag2r-Citroën Team

9. Tim Wellens (Bel) Lotto-Soudal

10. Giulio Ciccone (Ita) Trek-Segafredo, all at same time

General classification after stage two

1. Wout van Aert (Bel) Team Jumbo-Visma, in 8-37-35

2. Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Deceuninck - Quick-Step, at 4 seconds

3. Mathieu van der Poel (Ned) Alpecin-Fenix, at 8s

4. Pavel Sivakov (Rus) Ineos Grenadiers, at 11s

5. Mikel Landa (Esp) Bahrain Victorious, at 13s

6. Andrea Vendrame (Ita) Ag2r-Citroën Team, at 14s

7. Robert Stannard (Aus) Team BikeEchange

8. João Almeida (Por) Deceuninck - Quick-Step

9. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates

10. Alex Aranburu (Esp) Astana-Premier Tech, all at same time

Peter Sagan says he needs to “get back the race rhythm” as he returned to racing after a forced break due to coronavirus. 

The Bora-Hansgrohe rider went into quarantine in early February after he tested positive for Covid-19 during a training camp in Gran Canaria. 

Sagan was forced to miss the opening Classics weekend and Strade Bianche, but returned to racing at Tirreno-Adriatico on Wednesday (March 10) for the stage one bunch sprint.

Speaking after the stage, the 31-year-old said: "First stage of the Tirreno-Adriatico and, as expected, it came down to a fast bunch sprint. For me, it was also the first race of the 2021 season, so it was important to get back to race rhythm after a long break. The team, once again, did a very good job and I was kept safe in the long, final straight line to the finish. The last kilometre was quite hectic and, unfortunately, I wasn't in an ideal position to contest the sprint." 

Sagan was able to hold position near the front of the bunch in the frenetic dash for the line, which went to Wout van Aert (Jumbo -Visma) in a shock finish, but the Slovakian wasn’t able to contest for the victory in the sprint, finishing in 11th place.

The former three-time world champion hadn’t raced since the 2020 Giro d’Italia in October, so Sagan is hoping to get back race form ahead of his bigger goals in the coming weeks.

After Tirreno, Sagan will remain in Italy for Milan-San Remo on March 20 and will then return to Belgium for the cobbles Classics, then the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix.

>>> The Mayor of Nice doesn’t want Paris-Nice to finish on seafront as planned 

On Sagan’s first race of the year, Bora-Hansgrohe sports director Jan Valach said: “We approached today's stage in a calmer way. Our main goal was to protect our GC riders and make sure they avoided any major issues because we knew the stage would be decided in a fast sprint. In addition, it was the first race of Peter this year after some time, so we decided not to take any risks and take it as it would come. 

“The guys feel well, all of them finished within the bunch, they have good legs, so, overall, we think we can be satisfied with today's performance."