Julian Alaphilippe, Mark Cavendish and Remco Evenepoel will all be in action for the Wolfpack next week.
The organisers of Tirreno-Adriatico have decided to break with tradition and drop the San Benedetto del Tronto individual stage for the 57th edition, one which will also lack a mountain top finish. In addition to the new route, the “Race of the Two Seas” has a new date and will now end on the same day as Paris-Nice, six days before the season’s first Monument, Milano-Sanremo.
A 13.9km ITT will kick off proceedings before two days suited to the sprinters and a visit to Tuscany, where a series of short but steep climbs promise to break the race. Despite the steep gradients, the gaps are expected to not be significant by the time the peloton will take on the race’s sole mountain stage, featuring a double ascent of the gruelling Monte Carpegna, a 6km climb averaging 10%, which in the final kilometers kicks up to 12% before a fast descent to the finish. The last stage will consist of a flat circuit in San Benedetto del Tronto, giving the sprinters one more opportunity to take a victory.
The most successful French rider in the history of Tirreno-Adriatico, Julian Alaphilippe is set to be again at the start, making it the third time in four years that the reigning World Champion will ride the Italian event. Joining the rainbow jersey owner will be Ronde van Vlaanderen winner Kasper Asgreen, Davide Ballerini, Mark Cavendish – the man who netted the team’s first World Tour victory of the season at the UAE Tour – Josef Cerny, Remco Evenepoel, who just last month took his second overall triumph in three years at the Volta ao Algarve after a dominant ride, and Mikkel Honoré.
“It’s a nice but hard parcours, which gives chances to all types of riders. For the sprints we have Mark, a multiple stage winner here, but also Julian and Remco can bring some good results next week. Despite the presence of the time trial on the opening day, the big gaps between the general classification guys should come on the Carpegna, which is a tough climb that we know from Il Giro. Coming into the race, we are confident, have a lot of motivation and we are ready to take it one day at a time and see how things go”, said Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl sports director Davide Bramati.
Photo credit: ©Dario Belingheri / Getty Images
