Etixx – Quick-Step to Tirreno-Adriatico
The 51st edition of the race will take place between 9-15 March and will have a little bit of everything for all the riders at the start.
This year, the team time trial will return on the opening day of Tirreno-Adriatico, after last season it was replaced by the organizers with a short ITT, due to the extreme weather on the Tuscan coast. On Wednesday, the first day of the World Tour event, 23 squads will be at the start for a 22.7-km long stage which is expected to make some gaps between those gunning for the blue jersey and Neptune's Trident, the famous trophy of the event. Unlike the ancient god, the riders won't look to tame the water, but the hills and the mountains, in a race bookended by two stages against the clock.
After the Lido di Camaiore TTT, the peloton will head towards Pomarance, for a fight on a slight uphill finish which will play into the advantage of those with punch and an extra kick. In the next two days, the sprinters will have as many chances to go for victory, although a short hill that comes 15 kilometers from the finish of stage 4, in Foligno, could disrupt their trains and give the attackers an idea or two. On Sunday, the riders will face four categorized climbs before fighting for the win on Monte San Vicino, a 13-km long ascent, that tops out at 1208 meters. In Cepagatti, the finish will be reserved for the sprinters, before the race will end with the short individual time trial in San Benedetto del Tronto.
In the past years, Etixx – Quick-Step has been highly successful in "The Race of the Two Seas", winning the overall on one occasion and taking ten stage victories, all these since 2004. The team will look to continue on the same note also this year, when it will line up a two-pronged squad, ready to go for stage wins, but also for a good general classification: Gianluca Brambilla, Fernando Gaviria, Bob Jungels, Yves Lampaert, Tony Martin, Zdenek Stybar, Matteo Trentin and Julien Vermote.
"We come at the start with a competitive team, which is ready for what looks to be a difficult Tirreno-Adriatico, with an uphill finish and a couple of tricky stages, during which anything can happen. We don't hide the fact that we hope to get a strong result in the team time trial, a stage we won twice in the past three years, but we can't predict how things will go there. Overall, our goal is to take a stage and do a good GC with Bob and Gianluca, who lines up for Tirreno after an incredible ride in Strade Bianche", said sport director Davide Bramati.
Victorious on the track last week at the World Championships, Fernando Gaviria will race an event of such caliber for the first time in his career, which is why Davide downplayed any expectations: "I know that people are talking more and more of Fernando, but we're not going to put any pressure on him. Not only that he's coming in Italy after what was a hard-fought Omnium win at the World Championships in London, last week, but he'll make his World Tour debut in Tirreno-Adriatico, so our focus will be on helping him to cope with the level of the competition and make sure he'll have a nice race."
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele
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