New coach, old habits, and a long beard make the revamped Ganna a force to be reckoned with in Sanremo

Things are quickly forgotten in the world of cycling, so when Filippo Ganna won the opening time trial of the Tirreno-Adriatico on Saturday with an immense lead over the rest, it was almost a bit of a shock. The now 28-year-old Italian from INEOS Grenadiers has often been defeated in what has long been his discipline. But in 2025, it looks like we will again be dealing with the very best Ganna, which is excellent news for Milan-Sanremo.

At the first intermediate point of the 11.5-kilometer time trial, Ganna was still two seconds behind Juan Ayuso of UAE Team Emirates. The Spaniard beat Ganna in the same time trial a year ago, but in the second part of the race, he gained a remarkable 23 seconds. That reminded me of 2021, the last time Ganna became world time trial champion. After that, we saw him lose more often than he won.

"Today my goal was to win, and I did just that, so I am pleased with my performance," he said afterward to, among others, IDLProCycling.com. "My pace towards the first intermediate point was as planned; I didn't want to give it my all yet. After that, I tried to improve, and when I got to the 4-kilometer sign, I went full throttle. I also kept focusing on my position and tried not to think about the pain in my legs."

It seemed to work because when you saw Ganna speeding along the coast in the last kilometers, you saw pure watts. "My legs were working well, and I stayed focused, pushing like on the track. When I heard that I was in the lead, I rode the final kilometer at lightning speed, but I also didn't want to take too many risks heading into the last chicane. After nine years of Tirreno, I know the course by now," he smiled.

Read more below the photo.

Champagne for Ganna, that was a while ago!

Wind tunnel, old habits, and long beard make Ganna fly

How did Ganna manage to reclaim his place on the throne? "We improved the time trial a lot over the winter. I went to the wind tunnel and returned to the riding position I had a few years ago. That improved my metrics, so it worked well. This is just the beginning; we want to keep going from here. This victory boosts me mentally, and I will forget the pain for the next trials."

Ganna's time trial victory was INEOS Grenadiers' fifth win of 2025. Egan Bernal (double Colombian champion), Michal Kwiatkowski (Clasica Jaén), and Joshua Tarling (time trial in the UAE Tour) preceded the Italian. "As a team, we have made progress; we are doing much better than last year. But this is only the beginning for us as a team, too," he cautioned his teammates. "We must keep pushing the pedal to the metal!"

Not only did Ganna do things differently, but INEOS also changed its staff. What was also noticeable was that the Italian time trial champion showed up at the Tirreno on Sunday and Monday with a beard that was a bit longer than usual. "Many teammates joked about my beard on Sunday when I arrived at the hotel. But if I'm going to go this fast with a beard, I'd better keep it for the next few weeks," the day's winner said with a wink.

Read more below the photo.

Ganna and his new look

Tirreno leader Ganna isn't necessarily thinking about sprints, he is focusing on Milan-Sanremo

To keep the leader's jersey, Ganna should perhaps test his legs in the sprints in the days ahead. Why not? "Let's see what happens. First, I want to sleep well and recover properly," he said, maintaining a low profile. "Then tomorrow, we'll see if I have the engine to sprint. There are strong sprinters here, including Jonathan Milan, the best sprinter in the world. It looks like it will rain, so I won't take too many risks. A flat finish is not my thing, so maybe I'll stay out of the hustle and bustle."

Because the much more important goals for Ganna are later, starting on March 22 in Milan-Sanremo. Because when he finished second in 2023 on the Via Roma in Sanremo, it was also preceded by an excellent Tirreno... "I wanted to start the year strongly, as I did in 2023. I had a good winter and was strong in the Tirreno that year. Last year, I didn't have that good preparation due to illness (bronchitis, ed.). I also missed training days due to my trip to Australia, which meant I was playing catch-up for the whole year. My metrics were only higher than expected at the World Championships again."

Now that he has rediscovered his best self, everyone is curious how he will do in La Primavera and Paris-Roubaix. At the press conference on Sunday, Ganna said he does not fear Tadej Pogacar and Mathieu van der Poel in either race. "I get up in the morning with the idea of beating those others," he said eagerly, like when he was asked about the fact that no major time trialists were present at the Tirreno after his time trial victory." If Remco (Evenepoel, ed.) had been here, the result might have been different. I hope he recovers well from his accident because I like to race against the best riders in the world. I want to beat them, not have the victory be defined by the question: what if they had been there?"  

Bram van der Ploeg (Twitter: @BvdPloegg | email: [email protected])     

Read also

Course and results Tirreno-Adriatico 2025 | Ganna lives up to his role as favorite and wins opening time trial

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Italian rocket: Ganna claims victory in time trial Tirreno-Adriatico, Ayuso starts strong

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