The 58th edition of Tirreno-Adriatico begins on Monday, with Primoz Roglic among those set to ride across Italy as he plots his path towards May’s Giro d’Italia.
As the name suggests, the race begins on Italy’s Mediterranean coast with an 11.5km time-trial in Lido di Camaiore before traversing the country east and finishing on Sunday with a sprint into the seaside city of San Benedetto del Tronto on the Adriatic.
Two-time defending champion Tadej Pogacar of Team UAE Emirates has opted to skip the event in favour of Paris-Nice, as has the man he beat last year, Jumbo-Visma’s Jonas Vingegaard.
Instead, last year’s Paris-Nice winner Roglic leads a strong Jumbo-Visma team which could go head-to-head with an Ineos Grenadiers line-up featuring home favourite Filippo Ganna, Geraint Thomas and Saturday’s Strade Bianche winner, Tom Pidcock.
However, there is quality throughout the field and an in-form Brit, whose brother won this race in 2020, could be the man to beat with his Team UAE Emirates leader based elsewhere.
Tirreno-Adriatico Betting Tips
- Adam Yates to win outright
- Wout van Aert to win outright
The route
The race begins with Monday’s individual time-trial in Lido Di Camaiore, in which both Roglic and Ganna will both fancy their chances of victory, before a couple of flat days.
After a relatively straightforward start, the road starts to turn upwards, with stage five finishing with a gruelling climb up to the Sarnano-Sassotetto ski resort.
The penultimate day then features over 3,000m of climbing, including uphill stretches of 20 per cent, before the race is rounded off with a sprint.
Adam Yates to win outright
Team UAE Emirates have built real depth into their squad to support Pogacar and simultaneously ensure they can send strong teams to every race. Adam Yeats’ off-season move from Ineos Grenadiers is evidence of their investment.
Yates finished second at Tirreno-Adriatico in 2019 and is part of a strong squad that also includes Joao Almeida and Brandon McNulty.
They are excellent riders in a tactical battle, as they are good enough to break out of the pack and spark panic within the bunch. This ensures that while they might be closed down, someone like Yates can use the worries of his rivals to cruise along while others tire themselves out.
That could prove perfect for the 30-year-old, whose brother, Simon, won this race in 2020, including the queen stage to Sarnano-Sassotetto.
Although not great against the clock, the opening time-trial is not long enough to take too much out of him and after winning last Sunday’s closing stage on the way to finishing third at the UAE Tour, Yates could be primed for success.
Wout van Aert to win outright each way
Despite Roglic being Jumbo-Visma’s leader, they could find themselves getting behind Wout van Aert, while Wilco Kelderman could also assume the top job among the team.
Roglic was originally expected to start his season later in the month at the Volta a Catalunya and the decision to accelerate his return hints that his form is good. However, while he won Paris-Nice in 2022, he can sometimes struggle in the spring and may see this race as a chance to test his form.
Van Aert looked decent over the winter in cyclocross but skipped Saturday’s Strade Bianche through illness and the extra couple of days off should benefit him.
With more kilometres in his legs than his colleagues, the Belgian has a real chance here and knows this race well, having finished second in 2021.
The 28-year-old should be able to make it through the mountains and his ability to compete across all types of stages means he can always pick up seconds so he might be worth a look in the each-way market.
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