Preview: Tirreno-Adriatico 2026 - Van der Poel, Van Aert, Del Toro and more!

After the first classics are done and the monuments are just around the corner, it’s time for Tirreno-Adriatico. The Race of the Two Seas traditionally runs alongside its French counterpart Paris-Nice and this year it boasts a very strong field. WielerFlits provides an extensive preview!

History

Last edition

The sixtieth edition of Tirreno-Adriatico kicked off with a crucial day for the GC contenders. In Lido di Camaiore, a perfectly flat 11.5-kilometer individual time trial was on the program. Perfect for Filippo Ganna, who confirmed his favorite status by flying over the course at an average speed of 56.1 km/h.

In the shadow of the two-time world time trial champion, Juan Ayuso made very good progress with an eye on the overall victory. The Spaniard lost 22 seconds to an unleashed Ganna at the finish, but gained significant time on his other rivals. The leader of (then) UAE Emirates XRG set the tone for the week ahead.

In the following stages, Ayuso kept a low profile, watching from the front row as Jonathan Milan took the first sprint stage, Andrea Vendrame won the opening punchy stage in pouring rain, and Olav Kooij celebrated a hard-fought sprint victory under equally harsh weather conditions. Another Dutch rider who also distinguished himself in these stages was Mathieu van der Poel.

The classics specialist from Alpecin-Deceuninck came close to victory several times but always fell short. This was also the case in the tricky fifth stage to Pergola. Van der Poel won the sprint of a thinning group of favorites, but unfortunately that was several seconds behind the earlier escapee, the Danish attack specialist Fredrik Dversnes.

The next day was the moment for the climbers to strike, as the finish line was placed atop the final climb to Frontignano. Ayuso didn’t hesitate, brought out his best climbing legs, took the stage win and pulled off a double blow. The Spaniard managed to drop the strong Ganna – who cracked only in the last kilometers – from the leader’s jersey. It then became a formality for Ayuso to defend his leader’s jersey with style in the closing stage won by Milan.

Route

The 61st edition of Tirreno-Adriatico, scheduled from March 9 to 15, will feature plenty of elevation gain. Strikingly, however, a tough uphill finish is missing this year, something that had been a constant in previous editions.

The WorldTour race starts with a short, 11.4-kilometer individual time trial in Lido di Camaiore, an exact replica of 2025. The second stage heads to the Tuscan hills and finishes with a short 15% gradient climb in San Gimignano. The third and fourth stages can unfold in various ways. A sprint is possible, but attackers will undoubtedly seize their chances.

Stage five offers a route with many short, steep climbs and finishes in Mombaroccio. The finale includes a six-kilometer climb that is tackled twice, with the summit located 1.5 km after the last passage. The following day features the Sassotetto climb early on, but the decisive test is a triple ascent of the much shorter Camerino (with sections up to 18%). This will likely decide the overall standings.

The 61st edition of Tirreno-Adriatico starts along the Tyrrhenian coast with a traditional opener: an 11.5-kilometer individual time trial in Lido di Camaiore. This has been a standard in recent years, as the organizers like to stick to a proven formula. Riders head north in the first few kilometers to Lido’s adjoining town Fiumetto, where the intermediate time check and turnaround point is located.

From there, the riders blast back at a tearing pace (reaching speeds of up to 60 km/h) along the same roads to Lido di Camaiore, where the finish awaits after a time trial with few corners or obstacles. This course favors pure specialists, as recent winners prove: Filippo Ganna took three out of the last four time trial victories in and around the Tyrrhenian town.

After the time trial on day one, stage two offers punchy riders a chance to shine. The first roughly 120 kilometers do not suggest much action, and there’s little else to comment, but the final 75 kilometers feature almost continuous up and down terrain. Initially, the climbs are modest in gradient, but they gradually get longer and more challenging.

The climb to Castelnuovo Val di Cecna (with peaks of up to 9%) and the following uncategorized obstacles are probably warm-ups for the demanding finale, starting about 8 kilometers from the finish. The peloton will face a partly uphill gravel section of 5.5 kilometers, followed by a steep finishing climb (1.2 km at 7.1%) through the narrow cobbled streets of medieval San Gimignano's centre.

Is the third stage finally going to provide a sprint clash on Italian soil? That remains to be seen, as the route features a significant amount of elevation gain. The longest stage of Tirreno-Adriatico offers around 1,850 meters of climbing, although on paper the ascents do not appear overly difficult.

The longest climb is that to Petrella del Salto (7 km at 4%) and can be considered a gateway to the finale, with the summit about 40 kilometers from the finish. The remaining route is not entirely flat, but this should pose no problems for experienced sprinters. Or will sprint teams be surprised by a strong breakaway on the way to the finish in Magliano de' Marsi?

This year, the race lacks a true mountain stage, but climbers still have their opportunities. Stage five features plenty of climbing. Within the first 100 kilometers, there are two longer climbs: the Ovindoli (11.9 km at 4.9%) and the Valico delle Capannelle (12.9 km at 4.5%). The challenge, however, lies mostly in the finale.

After a long descent and flat intermediate section, the finale is expected to ignite on the climb to Castellalto (7.6 km at 4.5%). If this climb doesn’t make a breakthrough, expect fireworks on the slopes of Mosciano Sant’Angelo (3.1 km at 3.8%), an uncategorized climb (2 km at 5.3%), or the climb to Tortoreto (1.5 km at 8.4%). After this last climb, a flat final 12 kilometers lead to Martinsicuro.

Granted, the opening days of Tirreno-Adriatico include some tricky hill stages, but day five will truly separate the contenders from the pretenders. This stage could be called a mini Liège-Bastogne-Liège, with a staggering 3,900 meters of elevation gain and countless steep climbs. After a relatively flat build-up, the race soon tackles several punchy ascents within a short distance.

But this is still child’s play compared to what follows. Just before the 90-kilometer mark, the Monte delle Cesane (7.2 km at 7%) appears, followed quickly by the Montefeldno wall (800 meters at 11.3%), the climb to the sanctuary of San Pietro e Paolo (2.4 km at 6.5%), the Monte della Mattera (6.5 km at 5%), and – after a descent – the first passage through the finish town of Mombaroccio.

After that, two local laps of 21.6 kilometers near Mombaroccio follow, featuring one critical point: the climb to the sanctuary of Beato Sante (4.2 km at 6.2%). The contenders will have to make their move on the slopes of this climb, which peaks at 9%, with the summit just two kilometers from the finish.

Riders thinking the battle is won after the challenging fifth stage will be mistaken. On the penultimate day, the general classification will once again be contested intensely. At least, that’s the expectation considering the route. Early in the race, attention focuses on the climb to Sassotetto (13.1 km at 7.3%), a well-known challenge in the Race of the Two Seas.

Now, this climb seems more like a footnote, given its placement in the stage and the difficulty of the finale. After a long descent from Sassotetto, the race makes its first pass through the finish town of Camerino, but the riders only enter the final circuit after 103 kilometers. This local circuit is spiced up by the climb to Camerino (3.2 km at 8.9%), where the finish line is located.

The traditional final stage will likely see little change in the fight for the blue leader’s jersey, as it is tailored for sprinters. However, the opening phase features two climbs – the approach to Montefiore dell’Aso (10.9 km at 3.4%) and the one to Ripatransone (8.5 km at 4.6%) – where attackers could launch a dangerous breakaway.

Last year, Mathieu van der Poel was inspired to ignite the race here, but the Dutchman failed to hold off the sprint teams. It’s no surprise, as the riders had to complete five very flat local laps in and around San Benedetto del Tronto, the traditional Tirreno-Adriatico finish town. This certainly suits the fast men.

Favorites

In recent seasons, Tirreno-Adriatico served as the perfect battleground for Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard on their way to the season’s first major goals. The Slovenian took overall victories in 2021 and 2022, and the Dane claimed the 2024 overall. This year, however (like in ’25), the two top stars are absent. Vingegaard prefers Paris-Nice, while Pogacar opts for an alternative, race-free build-up towards the spring classics.

That doesn’t diminish the excitement, though, and probably opens the field for an even more spectacular race with more riders realistically targeting overall victory. The route supports such a scenario, lacking a true mountain stage and including several unpredictable stages for attackers/puncheurs. Especially one rider excels on this kind of terrain.

His name? Isaac Del Toro. A climber by trade and, in every way, the natural successor to Tadej Pogacar. Not only because the still only 22-year-old Mexican rides for the same UAE Emirates team, but also due to his abundance of class and inherent talent. Few riders manage eighteen (!) wins in their second pro year while keeping up the fight for overall victory in a grand tour. Del Toro has made a meteoric rise in a relatively short time and is now an established star.

He demonstrated this season in the only stage race he entered so far. In the UAE Tour, after an exciting duel with Antonio Tiberi, he took the overall victory. That will undoubtedly boost his confidence heading to his next races, starting with Tirreno-Adriatico, where he will find a route well suited to his qualities. With his explosiveness, climbing skills, and time trial abilities, Del Toro looks like the man to beat, but the competition won’t yield easily to his supremacy.

Arguably his biggest rival has a long career behind him but is far from finished: Primoz Roglic. For the Slovenian, this is only his first race of the season, so it’s still uncertain how his form stands. The experienced Roglic, however, knows better than anyone how to prepare for an important race. The two-time overall winner will grasp his rare opportunity to race as the outright leader with both hands – Remco Evenepoel won’t be at the start next week.

As mentioned earlier in this preview: the UAE Tour. Isaac Del Toro emerged victorious, but was pushed to the limit by Antonio Tiberi. The Italian will once again cross swords with the Mexican at Tirreno-Adriatico and will have an excellent opportunity for a sporting revenge on home soil. We mark him down with a marker pen rather than pencil as one of the top favorites for overall victory, as he finished third on the podium last year for Bahrain Victorious.

Tiberi had to concede defeat to last year’s overall winner Juan Ayuso and Filippo Ganna. The Spaniard this year targets the overall win at Paris-Nice, but Ganna will again be present. The question is: how far do ambitions run for the time trial specialist from Verbania? Is he focusing solely on the time trial and sharpening his form for the spring classics, or does he secretly have GC ambitions? Inside his INEOS Grenadiers team, we also see Thymen Arensman and Egan Bernal as potential GC contenders.

One rider set on a strong overall placing is Matteo Jorgenson. With Vingegaard absent, the American is Visma | Lease a Bike’s designated GC leader and gets a seemingly perfect route. Jorgenson will rely on support from Italian newcomer Davide Piganzoli and experienced Wout van Aert in the tricky finales. The latter has been on the Tirreno-Adriatico podium before and could surprise on this route, although he is here mainly to build form.

We already touched on Primoz Roglic’s winning chances, but we shouldn’t underestimate his teammates Jai Hindley and Giulio Pellizzari. Hindley remains a Giro d’Italia winner, while rising talent Pellizzari impressed this season in the Tour of Valencia. Tudor Pro Cycling also has an interesting dark horse in Michael Storer. Or will fortune favor Lorenzo Fortunato (XDS Astana)?

From a Belgian perspective, we’re mainly looking forward to the performances of Lennert Van Eetvelt (in good form after the recent UAE Tour) and Ilan Van Wilder, riding respectively for Lotto-Intermarché and Soudal Quick-Step. Other riders we’ll keep an eye on include Santiago Buitrago, Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious), Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost), and Jan Christen (UAE Emirates XRG).

Sprinters/Puncheurs

Despite many meters of climbing, Tirreno-Adriatico is not a race for pure climbers, but sprinters don’t have it easy either. With a bit of goodwill, there are two sprint opportunities, although nothing is set in stone. Nonetheless, quite a few fast men will line up at the start. Jonathan Milan is the fastest on paper, but competition for Lidl-Trek’s sprint ace is fierce.

Decathlon CMA CGM fields Tobias Lund Andresen, Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe counts on Dutch champion Danny van Poppel, EF Education-EasyPost aims for stage success with Madis Mihkels, and we haven’t even mentioned the lightning-fast Frenchman Paul Magnier of Soudal Quick-Step. Joining them are Arnaud De Lie (Lotto-Intermarché), Pavel Bittner (Picnic PostNL), Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck), and – possibly – Wout van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike).

Van Aert will mainly target the hillier stages, but the competition in these is fierce. He must contend not only with his longtime rival Mathieu van der Poel – whom we expect in several punchy stages – but also with previously mentioned Filippo Ganna, Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor), Christian Scaroni (XDS Astana), Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost), Jan Christen (UAE Emirates XRG), Paul Lapeira (Decathlon CMA CGM), and Jenno Berckmoes (Lotto-Intermarché).

At the time of publication, the full start list for Tirreno-Adriatico was not yet available. If a start list becomes available in time, we will update and modify the favorites section and star rating in this preview.

Weather and TV

The opening time trial will be run under sunny conditions with temperatures around 16 degrees Celsius in Lido di Camaiore, according to Weeronline. On Tuesday, showers will pass over the route to San Gimignano, but the sun will break through at times. Temperatures will be around 15 degrees. Showers and possible thunderstorms can also be expected on Wednesday during the stage to Magliano de' Marsi.

Thursday will be dry and sunny as the race heads toward Martinsicuro, with temperatures near 15 degrees. Friday and the weekend may see some showers, but mostly it will be dry with frequent sunshine. Temperatures will hover around 15 degrees.

Tirreno-Adriatico can be followed live from Monday on Eurosport 1 or online via HBO Max. See all TV channels and broadcast times in our cycling TV guide.