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Tirreno-Adriatico 2013 preview: The big names come out

Alberto Contador doesn't ride to come second - so what can we expect from him at the Vuelta? (Image: AAP)
Expert
5th March, 2013
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The names are big and the race is serious. With a line-up of stars worthy of a Grand Tour, Italy’s Tirreno-Adriatico will feature some of the best racing we are likely to see this year.

The tifosi will be whipped into a frenzy as the world’s best bike riders tackle the varied terrain of the ‘race of the two seas’.

Beginning in the west of the country, on the Tyrrhenian coast, the riders will time trial, sprint and climb their way over the Apennines and arrive, seven days later, on the Adriatic coast in the east.

A quick scan of the start list shows there will not be a dull moment.

The race opens with a 16.9 km team time trial between the seaside suburbs of San Vincenzo and Donoratico over what appears to be a non-technical, flat route. Orica-GreenEDGE won the opening TTT at last year’s event, which resulted in Matthew Goss being gifted the blue leader’s jersey.

The Australian team won’t have it all their own way this time around. BMC look dangerous with Cadel Evans, Taylor Phinney and Thor Hushovd among their number.

Two flat stages follow. Stage two from San Vincenzo to Indicatore covers 232 km and features a couple of small climbs early before completely flattening out.

The 198 km third stage from Indicatore to Narni Scalo is the opposite, with a flat beginning and a lumpier second half. It shouldn’t bother the fast men though and the sprints should be scorching affairs.

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Mark Cavendish and Andre Greipel will renew hostilities, going head to head for the first time this season, while wonder boy Peter Sagan will be trying to spoil their party. Biting at their heals will be Matthew Goss and John Degenkolb.

Goss will be desperate to get a win against quality opposition – actually a win against any opposition would do – but he’ll have to be at his best as the big three have already proved their form this year, each having racked up impressive victories.

Degenkolb may have won five stages at last year’s Vuelta a Espana, but it was against questionable sprinting opposition. A win against this classy field would see him gain enormous respect and perhaps over take Marcel Kittel as the number one sprinter at Argos-Shimano. But the more likely scenario is that he’ll remain number two for a while longer.

The arrival of the Apennines in stages four and five will see the race change character. While the flat landers will be searching for a safe spot within the gruppetto to hibernate, the true contenders will be breaking free of their winter cocoons and spreading their wings for the first time.

Stage four, a 165 km jaunt through the mountains from Narni to Prati di Tivo, features the first real climbs of the race, including an arduous summit finish. At 14 km long and with an average gradient of 7.1% (peaking at around 12%), we’ll soon see how the favourites are travelling.

Stage five, from Ortona to Chieti, is long and difficult. The 230 km course winds its way over the Forchetta di Palena climb and the Lanciano Pass, before a short but incredibly sharp conclusion in Chieti, featuring gradients of up to 19%.

Vincenzo Nibali won the climb to Prati di Tivo last year and went on to claim overall victory, but he faces stiffer opposition this time around. A veritable who’s who of Grand Tour racers will be out to deny him back to back wins.

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Alberto Contador, Cadel Evans, Joaquim Rodriguez, Chris Froome, Sammy Sanchez and Damiano Cunego will all be looking to make life difficult for Nibali.

Most of these combatants faced off at Oman last month and all will be eager to see how their form has progressed since then.

In what could be a sneak peek into the make-up of Sky’s restructured Tour de France team, Chris Froome will be ably supported by Rigoberto Uran. The Colombian finished seventh overall at last year’s Giro d’Italia and a good performance here should see him given the nod come July.

Froome, fresh from his Oman victory, will be looking to build on his form. A win on this terrain and against this opposition will do no harm to his bid of being Sky’s leader come the Tour.

Rodriguez loves steep, punchy climbs and will be going all out to prove he is still a rider to be feared. He hasn’t yet given up on his dream of winning a Grand Tour, and now that Katusha’s licensing problems are behind them, he’ll be looking at stealing the jump on some of his more fancied rivals.

Evans, another former winner, can never be written off. He showed he is recovering from the illness that plagued him last year with a heartening performance at Oman. This is a step up again and he needs to show that he can still mix it with the best.

Can he win? Probably not, but he has a couple of trusty workers in Ivan Santaromita and Manuel Quinziato, who will hustle him up the hills when required.

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The danger of course comes from Contador. ‘El Pistolero’ is still the premier climber in the peloton and has no equal on his day. Whether or not he has hit peak form yet remains to be seen, but he is a competitor and he loves to win.

If he does decide to exert his authority, the others can kiss their hopes and dreams goodbye. He will have good support from his new Australian team mate, Mick Rogers.

Stage six sees the race arrive on the east coast. While the mountains are gone, the 209 km circuit centred around the town of Porto Sant’Elpidio is far from being flat.

Classified as an intermediate stage, it suits a classics rider and will be targeted by the likes of Fabian Cancellara, Peter Sagan and Filippo Pozzato.

The seventh and final stage is a 9.2 km individual time trial around San Benedetto del Tronto. The out and back circuit follows the water front and is pancake flat.

The usual suspects such as Cancellara and Taylor Phinney should record fast times, but the gaps gained in the mountains should ensure that Neptune’s Trident – the trophy for the overall – remains firmly in the grasp of one of the climbers.

The depth of talent alone suggests this is an event not to be missed. As well as being an important race in its own right, it also gives us a serious look at who is tracking well for that other race that comes along each July.

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Tirreno-Adriatico runs from Wednesday, 6 March to Tuesday, 12 March.

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