Welcome to the VeloNews 2017 WorldTour fan guide. Great news: There are tons of cycling races all season! Less-great news: Like trying to pick an ice cream flavor at Ben & Jerry’s, tons of choices can be overwhelming. So, we’ll try to help out by giving you quick, fun overviews of major races. Stay tuned for more previews.
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Your New Favorite Race: Tirreno-Adriatico, March 8-14
Why should you care about this race? Tirreno-Adriatico is the spring’s big opener for Italian racing. It leads up to Milano-Sanremo, March 18, just four days after the seven-day “race of the two seas” concludes. This means you’ll see some action from sprinters such as Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Fernando Gaviria (Quick-Step Floors). Plus, you’ll also watch Giro GC favorites stretch their legs on a few mountain stages midway through the race (more on that in a moment).
Most dramatic edition in recent history? I must tip my hat to Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing) for winning the 2016 edition by merely one second. However, that came after the week’s major mountain stage was cancelled due to snow, which took the air out of the GC battle in Italy. Instead, the most dramatic edition is easily the 2013 race. After finishing sixth in stage 5, riding clear with a small group over Passo Lanciano, Chris Froome assumed the overall lead. Remember that in 2013, we cycling fans were still getting familiar with Froome — he had yet to win a Tour de France and was still being tested as Sky’s GC leader. Stage 6 didn’t look too threatening on paper, but watch out, Froomey! Vincenzo Nibali, then riding for Astana, had a dig over the top of Saint’Elpedio al Mare. As the rain fell harder, the Italian pushed the limit on narrow, twisty roads, linking up with Joaquim Rodriguez and Peter Sagan. They put enough time into the Brit for Nibali to take the lead after Sagan handily won the sprint. Froome put up a fight in the final individual time trial, held in San Benedetto del Tronto as is customary, but he could only take 11 seconds out of Nibali’s lead.
Your race’s defining feature: Tirreno has got the best trophy in the business. This might be blasphemous if you think a Roubaix cobblestone is the ultimate paperweight, but the trident — just look at the trident!
The trident isn’t the most important feature of the race, however. Instead, focus on the meat of the race, almost always stages 4 and 5, which provide a taste of Italy’s big climbs. For the 2017 race, organizer RCS Sport features an ascent of the famous Terminillo in stage 4. There’s some debate over whether Tirreno is a key pathway to the Giro. Nibali was the last man to win both races in the same season (2013) with that dramatic win over Froome. But regardless of whether it’s truly a bellwether of May potential, fans will have a chance to see their favorite riders — often those bound for the Giro — contest a week of aggressive, unpredictable racing.
But the thing is … Like Paris-Nice, which overlaps with Tirreno, the weather can be bad. Like cancel a stage because it’s so bad bad, like finishing in a snowstorm bad. Does this make for epic racing? Sometimes, but it also can neutralize some of the action that should give us a thrilling struggle for the trident. One thing we can be sure of is this: Nairo Quintana does not mind a little snow.
Here’s another tidbit: I’m not saying there is a Tirreno curse … But I’m not saying there isn’t one. It’s common for sprinters to tune up for Milano-Sanremo at the Italian stage race, but it’s rare for them to double-up with a Tirreno stage and a Milano-Sanremo title in the same season; Mark Cavendish was the last man to do so in 2009. Sure, Nibali won both Tirreno and the Giro overall in 2013, but he’s actually the only pro rider to do the double in Tirreno’s 51-year history. Watch out, Nairo!
Ladies first? Sorry fans, there’s no women’s race in conjunction with Tirreno. Stay tuned for Ronde van Drenthe Saturday.
Who are you betting your beer money on this year? It’s tempting to pick Thibaut Pinot because he’s been riding quite well in the early season, but Tirreno starts with a team time trial, and his FDJ team, well, let’s just say they don’t usually win team time trials. My money is on Quintana, curse be damned (and the curse was just one of my lame jokes anyway). That Terminillo finish, 1,675 meters in elevation, is a pure climber’s stage. Movistar can hang tough in the TTT, and I don’t think the final time trial is long enough (10.05km) for Quintana to lose it to someone like Nibali or Tom Dumoulin (Sunweb).
Full Tirreno-Adriatico preview >>
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