In recent years, the Tirreno-Adriatico has served as a premier stage for the world’s top sprinters. Just last year, the race saw a thrilling battle between Jonathan Milan, Jasper Philipsen, Tim Merlier, and Biniam Girmay – the four fastest wheels of the moment.
The 2025 edition will once again offer generous opportunities for the sprinters, with somewhere between two and three chances to unleash their power and go for stage win. The first will come in Follonica, a now-classic sprint finish at the Tirreno-Adriatico. Since 2018, this fast run-in has crowned winners like Marcel Kittel, Pascal Ackermann, Fabio Jakobsen, and Jasper Philipsen. The Camaiore-Follonica stage covers 189 mostly flat kilometers, with the short Canneto climb -just over 60 km from the finish – serving as the only minor obstacle. If a strong sprinter manages not to lose too much time in the previous day’s flat and fast time trial in Lido di Camaiore, they might even have a shot at taking the Maglia Azzurra thanks to time bonuses. In 2024, a similar stage saw Philipsen edge out Merlier and Biniam Girmay (though the latter was later relegated for deviating from his line in the sprint).
The second potential sprint might come on Stage 4, but unlike Follonica, the 189km route from Norcia to Trasacco will force the fast men to work much harder. The first 105 km have no flat terrain, with the Forca della Civita climb (14.3 km at 4.1%) coming right from the start – perfect for breakaway ambitions – followed by the Sella di Corno (7.5 km at 4.9%) and the long drag up to Valico La Crocetta (12.4 km at 5.7%), which tops out 80 km from the finish. Staying in contention and battling it out for victory in Trasacco will be anything but easy.
The last opportunity is, of course, the closing stage in San Benedetto del Tronto, a historic Tirreno-Adriatico finale which has returned to being a sprinters’ stage in 2022 after years of TTs. The Porto Potenza Picena–San Benedetto del Tronto fraction runs 147 km, featuring the Santa Maria della Fede ramp and the Ripatransone climb, but both are over 90 km from the finish and shouldn’t trouble the sprinters. From Grottammare, the race enters a 15 km finishing circuit to be tackled five times, giving the fast men plenty of time to perfect their run-in. Recent winners here include Phil Bauhaus, Jasper Philipsen, and Jonathan Milan. Who will be the king of the sprints in 2025?
