Cyclry

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2021 Tirreno-Adriatico Preview

Long gone are the days when this was a warm cruise for the riders who didn’t want to tackle France’s rain in Paris-Nice. This year’s race takes in 1109km over seven stages, including steep climbs in the Apennines, three long days to be used as preparation for the Milan-San Remo, and a 10km final day time-trial.

This ‘something for everyone’ attitude has resulted in a packed startlist that boasts some of the best riders in the world. Which is nice.

Where to Watch

Europe: Eurosport
UK, USA, Europe, Australia, Canada: GCN+
France: L’Equipe TV
Belgium: Sporza
Italy: Rai Sport

Route

1 FlatWed, March 10Lido di Camaiore – Lido di Camaiore156 km
2 HillThur, March 11Camaiore – Chiusdino202 km
3 HillFri, March 12Monticiano – Gualdo Tadino219 km
4 MountainSat, March 13Terni – Prati di Tivo148 km
5 HillSun, March 14Castellalto – Castelfidardo205 km
6 FlatMon, March 15,Castelraimondo – Lido di Fermo169 km
7 Time-trialTues, March 16San Benedetto del Tronto – San Benedetto del Tronto10.1 km

Startlist

2021 Tirreno-Adriatico startlist (external site)

Ones to Watch

Simon Yates (BikeExchange) – Defending his 2020 title, Yates will relish some of the climbs along the course. We will go ahead and predict that he doesn’t win the 2021 Race of Two Seas, but he won’t give up his title without a fight.

Tour Winners – It’s a stacked field this year. Tadej Pogacar, Egan Bernal, Geraint Thomas, and Vincenzo Nibali make up four Tour de France winners among the starters, somewhat stealing Paris-Nice’s thunder.

The Three Kings (Copyright Cyclry) – Mathieu van der Poel. Wout van Aert. Julian Alaphilippe. All on the start line. With bigger targets coming up, this seems like it would just be about stretching the legs… but Wout van Aert has indicated that he may attempt to win the entire race. Can his two favorite rivals resist joining the fun?

Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) – Sagan returns for his first race of the season following a period out with Covid. He might not have an easy time of it this year, but he usually steals the limelight, win or lose.