Next week, the Spring Classics are interrupted for an enormous week of stage racing, with Tirreno-Adriatico and Paris-Nice taking on the WorldTour calendar and luring nearly all the high GC riders and sprinters to race in Italy and France.
In Italy, the seven powerful phases of Tirreno-Adriatico supply fertile coaching floor for all kinds of riders, from GC riders getting ready for the Giro d’Italia, to sprinters testing their velocity and Classics specialists getting the race days in earlier than the Monuments begin.
With Jonas Vingegaard choosing Paris-Nice this 12 months, and Tadej Pogačar, Primož Roglič and the injured Remco Evenepoel skipping racing in any respect this week, the racing in Italy appears to be like to be very open with the second tier of GC riders getting an opportunity to steer their groups. In place of the so-called huge 4, Juan Ayuso and Adam Yates will spearhead a powerful UAE Team Emirates-XRG squad, Jai Hindley will look to repeat his 2024 podium end, and Simon Yates is making his debut for Visma-Lease a Bike.
As properly as an open GC, there’s scorching sprinting competitors brewing because the battle to rack up wins continues, and there are some huge names in search of alternatives within the race’s punchier phases, together with hopefully an opportunity to see Mathieu van der Poel and Tom Pidcock go face to face.
Can UAE Team Emirates-XRG proceed their all-conquering begin to 2025, or will a rival workforce pull one thing particular out of the bag within the combat for the general? Here are the important thing contenders for all of the completely different storylines that can play out at Tirreno-Adriatico 2025.
Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates-XRG)
UAE Team Emirates-XRG are coming to this race with out Tadej Pogačar – who is just racing one-day races till the Critérium du Dauphiné – however such is the depth of their squad that they’re nonetheless huge favourites to win the race.
The first of two doable leaders is Juan Ayuso, who’s racing Tirreno as he builds in the direction of a GC bid on the Giro d’Italia. Still solely 22, Ayuso is a extremely completed climber and GC rider, and shall be hoping to show his stage win and runner-up end at this race final 12 months right into a win, particularly with Vingegaard, the rider who beat him in 2024, not racing this 12 months. The opening TT ought to swimsuit him once more, and the slew of powerful climbs supply loads of alternatives to take time.
Ayuso solely began his racing season on the weekend, racing the Faun-Ardèche Classic and Faun Drome Classic duo and profitable the latter, so Tirreno is admittedly his first huge goal this season. He appears to be like to be in good kind and if he’s to show his benefit for sole management on the Giro, this race must be the place to do it.
Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates-XRG)
For every other workforce, calling two riders severe GC contenders is likely to be optimistic, however with regards to UAE Team Emirates-XRG they may legitimately place two riders on the rostrum in Tirreno-Adriatico. Alongside Ayuso, Adam Yates shall be seeking to take his alternatives to be free from Tadej Pogačar and go for a outcome himself in Italy.
Yates has already picked up a GC victory this 12 months, profitable the Tour of Oman total final month, towards a reasonably robust climbing subject, so his confidence and motivation must be excessive. With Ayuso, UAE will have the ability to implement a two-pronged assault, which may both assist one rider win and even place them each inside the high spots on onerous phases.
Jai Hindley (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe)
Another rider who’s at Tirreno to begin their lead-in to the Giro is former maglia rosa winner Jai Hindley, who will lead Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe within the absence of Primož Roglič.
Hindley completed third right here final 12 months, and it’s the type of week-long stage race the place he ought to actually be aiming at good outcomes if he’s to cement himself as a stable GC rider and various to Roglič. The Australian has already ridden a stage race this 12 months, coming ninth total on the Volta a la Comunitat Valenciana, so there’s nonetheless some work to be executed however the tougher, longer Tirreno-Adriatico ought to swimsuit him higher.
Time trials have beforehand been a sticking level for Hindley, however at solely 9.9km, the stage 1 TT shouldn’t be an excessive amount of of a menace to his total probabilities, and having riders like Florian Lipowitz supporting him ought to bode properly for the Queen stage to Frontignano.
Simon Yates (Visma-Lease a Bike)
Simon Yates to Visma-Lease a Bike was one of the vital intriguing transfers of the low season, and subsequent week we’ll lastly get to see the way it performs out.
Supposedly recruited as a brilliant domestique for Jonas Vingegaard, it’s attention-grabbing that the workforce have break up them up throughout Paris-Nice and Tirreno, probably giving Yates an opportunity to go for a outcome himself.
With Olav Kooij on the beginning checklist, Visma can have barely break up pursuits in Italy, however sending Attila Valter, Ben Tulett and Cian Uijtdebroeks alongside Yates definitely gives the look of a workforce focusing on the GC, and will give the Brit significantly better assist than he’s had at this race in earlier years.
This is his first race forward of a busy summer season, however Yates usually begins his season properly and must be amongst one of the best riders right here.
Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost)
One of the few riders coming straight from Strade Bianche to Tirreno-Adriatico, Richard Carapaz has a busy schedule of stage races and one-days operating into the Giro and Tour, considerably bucking the development of much less racing earlier than huge objectives.
Tirreno shall be an enormous take a look at for the Ecuadorian, and start to inform us the place he sits amongst the GC contenders heading into the Giro. He’s raced a handful of instances in France this season, taking a reasonably lacklustre ninth on the Tour des Alpes-Maritimes, so Carapaz and his workforce shall be hoping that the more durable terrain in Italy will showcase his kind higher.
Also in EF pink, look out for his younger teammate Lukas Nerurkar who impressed on the climbs in his debut season final 12 months.
Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck)
Tirreno-Adriatico was meant to be Mathieu van der Poel’s highway debut, however the racing itch acquired too robust and the Dutchman made a shock look at Le Samyn on Tuesday, which he subsequently gained.
Aiming for repeat wins on the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix later this spring, Tirreno is hardly his largest purpose, however it’s a race that has all the time fitted into his preparations properly, and he’s a rider who all the time races to win. Whilst some phases shall be too onerous, and a few too sprint-friendly, there are some good in-between alternatives for Van der Poel – control phases 4 and 5 particularly, or any day there’s an opportunity for the break.
The cyclo-cross world champion is a assured participant, so he’ll be eager so as to add one other win to the tally and increase his esteem over his Classics rivals.
Tom Pidcock (Q36.5 Pro Cycling)
Tom Pidcock is a rider reworked this 12 months, and Tirreno-Adriatico is the subsequent huge take a look at of his post-Ineos kind. He took three wins throughout the AlUla Tour and Ruta del Sol – profitable the previous total – and while he admitted that his Omloop Het Nieuwsblad journey was disappointing, he shall be raring to tackle his first WorldTour stage race of the season.
The Brit has usually been touted as a high one-day rider, however the indicators are rising that he might certainly be higher suited to stage races, and the repeated probabilities they provide. There are some powerful climbs to cope with in Italy, however he was climbing properly in Spain, and there are many punchy days which might be suited to him.
We haven’t seen Pidcock vs Van der Poel for fairly a while now, however Tirreno may ship that thrilling rivalry as soon as extra.
Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek)
Jonathan Milan is proving himself as maybe essentially the most highly effective sprinter on the planet proper now, and shall be hoping so as to add to the 4 wins he’s already achieved this 12 months.
Where the Italian has actually stepped up this 12 months is his skill to recover from powerful climbs in the direction of the end of races, which has actually diversified the type of phases he’s in a position to win, and bodes properly for Tirreno the place nothing is ever completely easy.
After this, Milan is racing a stacked Classics program, so it is a likelihood to actually tally up some extra wins in pure sprints forward of his Tour de France debut in the summertime, and defend the factors jersey he gained on this race final 12 months.
Olav Kooij (Visma-Lease a Bike)
However, Milan shall be up towards some stiff competitors within the sprints this 12 months with most of the quick males selecting Italy over Paris-Nice. One of Milan’s largest rivals shall be Olav Kooij, who was the dominant sprinter on the Tour of Oman and simply took second at Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne, impressively beating the likes of Milan and Tim Merlier.
This shall be Kooij’s first time at Tirreno-Adriatico since 2022, having opted for – and gained at – Paris-Nice the final two years, so it will likely be attention-grabbing to see how he takes to the terrain.
He’s much less of an influence sprinter than Milan and doesn’t have his top-tier lead-out with him, however he’s a quick and canny rider who ought to see some good alternatives and an opportunity to check his dash forward of a return to the Giro d’Italia.
Paul Magnier (Soudal-QuickStep)
Finally, you may’t overlook Soudal-QuickStep’s younger rocket Paul Magnier. The 20-year-old hasn’t completed exterior the highest three as soon as this season, most just lately taking a trio of runner-up spots within the Figueira Champions Classic, Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and Le Samyn.
Magnier confirmed his potential final 12 months and is displaying that he’s already in a position to rub shoulders with the easiest riders, in the easiest races. Tirreno shall be a take a look at as he’s solely ridden one WorldTour stage race to this point, however the Frenchman is trying so robust and hungry this 12 months that he ought to positively be contesting the win on the flat phases.
He might not but have the pure energy to match his extra mature rivals, however he’s definitely able to including to his haul of top-threes, and presumably even an enormous win on the appropriate day.
Outsiders
Israel-Premier Tech’s Derek Gee just lately gained O Gran Camiño in spectacular style and can look to duplicate among the kind that noticed him excel on the Giro d’Italia two years in the past.
Jayco AlUla come to this race with out their new signing Ben O’Connor – he’s at Paris-Nice – however have seen promise in Elmar Reinders this season as an opportunist, while Filippo Zana will tackle the GC and sprinter Dylan Groenewegen will look to enhance on a poor begin within the Middle Eastern races.
Søren Wærenskjold (Uno-X Mobility) heads to Italy with boosted confidence after profitable Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, and with him and Magnus Cort his workforce have some actual threats for the flatter phases.
Mikel Landa is predicted to tackle some extra GC duty for Soudal-Quick Step in Evenepoel’s absence and can head to Tirreno-Adriatico straight from Strade Bianche to chase a primary particular person win since 2021.