Preview Tirreno-Adriatico 2025 | Playground for Van der Poel, important test for Ayuso, Yates and Pidcock

The Tirreno-Adriatico turns 60 years old this year, and it seems the peloton’s biggest stars are ready to celebrate. The Italian stage race has attracted a stacked field of top riders, setting the stage for seven spectacular days of racing, from the Adriatic to the Tyrrhenian Sea. IDLProCycling.com previews the race and will keep you posted about all the results throughout the week.

The Tirreno is a staple of the WorldTour calendar, though it remains a younger sibling to its French counterpart, Paris-Nice. Every year, both races compete to attract the biggest names, and this time, Tirreno has certainly delivered. With Tadej Pogacar, Wout van Aert, Remco Evenepoel, and Primoz Roglic opting out of both races, we’ll see Mathieu van der Poel in Tirreno-Adriatico and Jonas Vingegaard leading the charge in Paris-Nice.

Van der Poel seems set to enjoy himself for seven days. After kicking off his season early at Le Samyn—and winning immediately—the Dutchman will have no designated sprinter in his team, allowing him to attack the hilly stages and fine-tune his form ahead of Milan-San Remo on March 22. What will truly excite race organizers is the deep field of big names lining up behind Van der Poel. Nearly all the big names preparing for May’s Giro d’Italia will also be at Tirreno-Adriatico, setting up an exciting battle that could foreshadow what’s to come in Italy’s grand tour.

Most recent winners Tirreno-Adriatico

2024 Jonas Vingegaard
2023 Primoz Roglic
2022 Tadej Pogacar
2021 Tadej Pogacar
2020 Simon Yates
2019 Primoz Roglic
2018 Michal Kwiatkowski
2017 Nairo Quintana
2016 Greg Van Avermaet
2015 Nairo Quintana

Course, stage favorites and schedule Tirreno-Adriatico 2025

Stage 1, March 10, 2025: Lido di Camaiore - Lido di Camaiore (11.5 km, time trial)

The opening day has traditionally been held in Lido di Camaiore, a beautiful coastal town in summer but often a bleak and windy place in early March. This year looks no different, with rain and strong winds expected. The favorites for the stage win will need to time their effort carefully. The course is pancake-flat, making it perfect for powerful riders. Juan Ayuso won last year—can he do it again?

Favorites
Filippo Ganna (INEOS Grenadiers)
Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates-XRG)
Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels)

Schedule
Start first rider: 12:35 PM local time | 6:35 AM (EST)
Finish last rider: 3:44 PM local time | 9:44 AM (EST)

Stage 2, Tuesday, March 11, 2025: Camaiore - Follonica (192.0 km)

Stage two follows another familiar route, starting in Camaiore and finishing in Follonica, often referred to as the Las Vegas of Tuscany. That’s in summer, of course—March is much quieter in terms of tourism. Still, the Italians will welcome the riders with enthusiasm as they race down a long, straight road to the finish. Traditionally, this is the first big chance for the sprinters.

Favorites
Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek)
Olav Kooij (Visma | Lease a Bike)
Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco-AlUla)

Times
Start: 11:30 AM local time | 5:30 AM (EST)
Finish: around 3:46 PM local time | 9:46 AM (EST)

Stage 3, Wednesday, March 12, 2025: Follonica - Colfiorito (239 km)

It’s on stage three that we see a real change from previous editions. The organizers have designed a brutally long 239(!) kilometer stage, taking the riders from Follonica to Colfiorito. It’s a great endurance test ahead of Milan-San Remo on March 22, which is only 60 kilometers longer. The finish comes after a long, grinding 18.5-kilometer climb at 3.1% average gradient. The first two kilometers will be the toughest, averaging over 8%, before leveling out to a more manageable climb where riders can push a bigger gear.

Favorites
Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck)
Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty)
Filippo Ganna (INEOS Grenadiers)

Times
Start: 9:45 AM local time | 3:45 AM (EST)
Finish: around 3:44 PM local time | 9:44 AM (EST)

Stage 4, Thursday, March 13, 2025: Norcia - Trasacco (190 km)

After Wednesday’s grueling stage, Thursday brings another 190-kilometer challenge, where the first 127 kilometers will be crucial for those targeting a sprint finish. The stage starts with climbing, featuring two categorized ascents that rise gradually at 5% average gradients. The key question: can the sprinters’ teams bring everything back together after the climbing, or will we see a breakaway take the win?

Favorites
Magnus Cort (Uno-X)
Rick Pluimers (Tudor)
Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek)

Times
Start: 10:50 AM local time | 4:50 AM (EST)
Finish: around 3:43 PM local time | 9:43 AM (EST)

Stage 5, Friday, March 14, 2025: Ascoli Piceno - Pergola (205 km)

Riders like Mathieu van der Poel will have days like this circled in red on their calendars. This is exactly why they choose Tirreno-Adriatico—stages featuring punchy climbs in the finale and another 200+ kilometer stage to conquer. The final climb of the day, Monterolo (3.9 km at 6.6% average gradient), will be crucial for both punchers, as well as GC contenders. The stage finishes on a false flat uphill, something to keep in mind.

Favorites
Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck)
Tom Pidcock (Q36.5)
Maxim Van Gils (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe)

Times
Start: 10:45 AM local time | 4:45 AM (EST)
Finish: around 3:45 PM local time | 9:45 AM (EST)

Stage 6, Saturday, March 15, 2025: Cartoceto - Frontignano (163 km)

The GC riders have had to be patient in this edition, but on the penultimate day, the overall classification should be decided. The final climb to Frontignano (7.7 km at 7.8% average gradient) is finally tough enough for the best climbers to battle it out. Most of the climb averages well over 8%, only easing off slightly near the top. Expect all-out attacks!

Favorites
Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates-XRG)
Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates-XRG)
Simon Yates (Visma | Lease a Bike)

Times
Start: 12:50 PM local time | 6:50 AM (EST)
Finish: around 5:00 PM local time | 11:00 AM (EST)

Stage 7, Sunday, March 16, 2025: Porto Potenza Picena - San Benedetto del Tronto (147 km)

The final stage in San Benedetto del Tronto is a yearly Tirreno-Adriatico tradition—a short, flat sprint stage along the coast, offering scenic views and one last chance for the fast men to fight for victory. It’s also a smart move by the organizers—otherwise, most sprinters would have abandoned on Friday. With the GC already settled, the overall winner just needs to cross the line safely.

Favorites
Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek)
Olav Kooij (Visma | Lease a Bike)
Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco-AlUla)

Times
Start: 12:30 PM local time | 6:30 AM (EST)
Finish: around 3:46 PM local time | 9:46 AM (EST)

Favorites general classification Tirreno-Adriatico 2025

As mentioned, nearly all the top riders set to race the Giro d’Italia in May will be competing here, making it a perfect early test. However, for the GC contenders, the real opportunities will be limited to a time trial on stage one and a climbing showdown on stage six. The rest of the time, they’ll need to stay alert, avoid losing time, and focus on racking up race kilometers.

Although Pogacar isn’t racing, there’s a high chance that we’ll see a dominant UAE Team Emirates-XRG in the GC battle. Juan Ayuso has already raced three one-day events this season and won two—and he could have easily made it three for three. The 22-year-old Spaniard is in outstanding form, as is his co-leader Adam Yates, who already claimed overall victory in the Tour of Oman. Add a very strong Isaac Del Toro into the mix, and you have the already-feared Giro d'Italia trident lined up. With his time-trial ability, Ayuso might have a slight edge over the others.

Read more below the photo.

Juan Ayuso

Who are UAE's challengers? Obviously, the first team to look at is Visma | Lease a Bike, which brings Simon Yates and Cian Uijtdebroeks as dual leaders—Yates making his season debut here. Other teams also have dangerous duos: Antonio Tiberi and Pello Bilbao at Bahrain Victorious, Richard Carapaz and Ben Healy at EF Education-EasyPost, David Gaudu and Romain Grégoire at Groupama-FDJ and Jai Hindley and Maxim Van Gils at Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe.

With only one time trial and a single summit finish, this race could also open opportunities for outsiders. A strong climbing day could be enough to put someone in contention. Riders to watch include Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), Ion Izagirre (Cofidis), Derek Gee (Israel-Premier Tech), Max Poole (Picnic-PostNL), and Laurens De Plus (INEOS Grenadiers).

For highly intriguing names like Tom Pidcock (Q36.5), Mikel Landa (Soudal-Quick Step), Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek), Marc Hirschi (Tudor), Eddie Dunbar (Jayco-AlUla), Johannes Staune-Mittet (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale), Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility), and Wout Poels (XDS-Astana), their chances of a strong GC result will largely depend on how well they perform in the opening time trial. After that, who knows what they might achieve in the mountains...

Who are the favorites for the final classification of the 2025 Tirreno-Adriatico, according to IDLProCycling.com?

Top favorite:Juan Ayuso and Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates-XRG)
Outsiders:Simon Yates (Visma | Lease a Bike), Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain Victorious), Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost), Tom Pidcock (Q36.5) and Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek)
Long shots: Mikel Landa (Soudal-Quick Step), Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious), David Gaudu and Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ), Jai Hindley (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe), Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), Derek Gee (Israel-Premier Tech), Max Poole (Picnic-PostNL) and Laurens De Plus (INEOS Grenadiers)

TV coverage Tirreno Adriatico 2025

Eurosport will broadcast live coverage of all stages daily from 1:05 PM on Eurosport 1 and HBO Max. On the penultimate day, coverage is expected to start an hour later, with the finish scheduled for 5:00 PM instead of 3:45 PM.

Read also

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