As the Monuments approach, riders turn their focus to Tirreno-Adriatico. The 7-day event is also known as the “Race of the Two Seas”, because..well it goes from Tyrrhenian Sea on the west coast to the Adriatic Sea on the east coast. (Thanks Captain Obvious.)
Scheduled alongside Paris-Nice, this year’s edition promises a stacked field. Two riders who will be squaring off again are long-time rivals, Mathieu van der Poel and Wout van Aert.
Stage 1: Another TT for Ganna?
Last year, the race kicked off with an 11.5-km flat individual time trial in Lido di Camaiore, perfectly suited for Filippo Ganna. The Italian chrono specialist absolutely smoked it, coming in at an average speed of 56.1 km/h. The 2026 course is the same–so it’s highly probable Ganna will score another win.
In the following stages, sprinters and puncheurs took over in, while Van der Poel repeatedly came verrrry close to victory, including a near-miss in the fifth stage to Pergola.
The climbers then took over on the final ascent to Frontignano, where Ayuso’s performance ultimately sealed the overall win. Although Derek-Gee West raced T-A in 2025, it’s not on his program this year.
Next up for the national champ is Volta a Catalunya later this month. No other Canadians will be racing, although there are a couple at Paris-Nice right now.
Paris-Nice recap
Paris-Nice began on Sunday. Stage 1 was a heavily reduced bunch sprint after multiple crashes shook up the peloton. Luke Lamperti (EF Education-Easypost) sprinted to the dub, giving his team its first win of the season.
The 171 km route from Achères to Carrières-sous-Poissy was two laps including the 1.1 km, 8.1 per cent Côte de Chanteloup-les-Vignes climb. That ended up being decisive in splitting the group. Nickolas Zukowsky finished as the top Canadian in 109th.
You can watch both races on Flobikes.com. Coverage of Stage 1 of Tirreno-Adriatico begins at 8:05 a.m. EDT. The second day of racing at Paris-Nice is being broadcast at 10:10 a.m. EDT. Lots of racing to watch, so be sure to minimize those windows at the office and enjoy the show!
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