Mathieu Van der Poel (Alpecin–PremierTech) and Wout Van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike) lining up together at Tirreno Adriatico. Does that ring a bell? Of course it does, it brings back memories of the 2021 edition of the Race of the Two Seas, a week of spectacular racing with time trials, sprints, climbs and punchy uphill finishes. Van der Poel won two stages, including the wild one in Castelfidardo, Van Aert won two as well and finished second overall, beaten only by Pogačar. This year Tadej will not be there, but Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates–XRG) will, and the Mexican is not far from the level the Slovenian showed in 2021.
The Mexican rider is the number one favourite for this year’s edition, both because of what his solid performance at the UAE Tour and because there are several stages suited to his explosive style. This year’s edition will feature no major summit finish, meaning many riders could realistically aim for GC – even a prime Van Aert, if he wanted. Both he and Van der Poel, however, will mainly be looking to fine-tune their condition ahead of Milano–Sanremo, where they will be among the top favourites.
A similar case can be made for Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers), who is also targeting La Classicissima but has always performed well at Tirreno Adriatico (he has raced it continuously since 2017). Last year he finished second overall and has taken four stage wins in nine appearances, all in time trials. The British team will also rely on Magnus Sheffield and Thymen Arensman, both more than capable of fighting for a strong result in the overall standings.
