Tirreno-Adriatico 2026 contenders: who will win the Race of the Two Seas?

Can the experienced Primož Roglič challenge Isaac del Toro?

The last two weekends at the Opening Weekend and Strade Bianche kicked off the start of the European racing season, and now the WorldTour moves onto two concurrent stage races: Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico. The Italian race boasts a deep start list full of climbing, Classics and sprinting talent.

‘The Race of the Two Seas’ kicks off with an individual time trial in Lido di Camaiore, on Italy’s western side, on the Tirreno coast, before the customary migration over the course of seven stages. To complement the opening time trial, there are punchy finishes, a few mountains to traverse and a final flat finish in San Benedetto del Tronto. So, plenty to get stuck into for some of the best riders in the peloton – with Primož Roglič going head to head with Isaac del Toro, it has been set up to be an exciting battle for the maglia azzurra and the iconic trident trophy, first introduced in 2010.

Contenders

Primož Roglič

With the signing of Remco Evenepoel, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe have clearly taken steps in their quest to become the best cycling team in the world. However, that doesn’t mean all the focus will be on the Belgian. They still have one of the best GC riders of the last decade in their ranks, Primož Roglič, who has won Tirreno twice in his career. The Slovenian is starting his season in Lido di Camaiore, so his shape is unknown, but as one of the two previous winners on the startline (Nairo Quintana won in 2015 and 2017), he is obviously one to look out for.

Roglič, a former Olympic champion, is an accomplished time triallist (Image: Zac Williams/SWpix.com)

Isaac del Toro

UAE Team Emirates-XRG have a plethora of talent in their ranks, as shown by three of their riders coming in the top six at Strade Bianche on Saturday. Their leader is, of course, Tadej Pogačar, who won his fourth Strade title in a typically dominant fashion. Del Toro (third in Siena) played an important role in monitoring the chase group and nullifying attacks. However, in Tirreno-Adriatico he will have the license to shoot for the victory himself. Del Toro is coming in with strong form, having won the UAE Tour in February, and with an impressive track record in Italian races and handy time trial, he could take his first Tirreno title this week.

Del Toro finished an impressive third at Strade Bianche 2026 (Image: Dirk Waem/Getty)

Antonio Tiberi

Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain-Victorious) is in the form of his life. He recently beat Del Toro on stage three of the UAE Tour, up the brutal Jebel Mobrah climb. The Italian was third at last year’s race, and is well suited to the challenging route that will unfold over the coming days. In July, Tiberi is set to make his debut at the Tour de France, so he will want to continue the good form he has displayed already in 2026, which promises to be a breakthrough year.

Tiberi has made his best start to a season yet (Image: Zac Williams/SWpix.com)

Matteo Jorgenson

Matteo Jorgenson, the winner of the two previous editions of Paris-Nice, decided to change up his calendar for 2026 and will be making his season’s stage racing debut across the border in Italy. The American from Visma-Lease a Bike has a strong time trial and can handle himself well in the punchy terrain that features heavily at Tirreno. He will also be backed by a strong Visma squad. Two years ago, Jonas Vingegaard won Tirreno while Jorgenson took his first Paris-Nice title. With Vingegaard being one of the favourites for ‘The Race to the Sun’, can they repeat the feat, albeit on opposite sides of the border?

Jorgenson is a two-time winner at Paris-Nice (Image: Billy Ceusters/Getty Images)

Other contenders

This year the Italian race has some serious GC depth, so there are plenty of riders to look at beyond those already listed. Jan Christen (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) played a key role in Pogačar’s Strade Bianche win and could break onto the podium.

The punchy parcours at Tirreno might be more favourable to Classics riders than pure climbers, but the form Santiago Buitrago (Bahrain-Victorious) has shown this year means he can’t be discounted.

Other riders who are more than comfortable with the road tilts uphill include Jai Hindley and Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek), Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM Team), Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost), Michael Storer (Tudor Pro Cycling Team), Egan Bernal and Thymen Arensman (Ineos Grenadiers), Lorenzo Fortunato (XDS Astana Team) and Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility).

However, it’s all all about the climbers. There will be plenty of opportunity for stage hunters to claim victory at Tirreno, starting on stage one’s time trial which was won by Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers).

Alongside Ganna, Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) is also an interesting proposition at the race. The pair can also win later in the week and may even try to stay in the GC fight, having both finished on the overall podium at the race in the past (Ganna was second last year; Van Aert was second in 2021).

Likewise Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech) could be a surprise GC contender, but given his class, the Dutchman could contend multiple stages.

Look out for attacks from the likes of Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility), Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost), Tobias Lund Andresen (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) and Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor Pro Cycling Team), who has won three stages at the race.

Although most of the stages are lumpy, there are a few sprinters at the race who will be hoping to nab a win and do some conditioning ahead of goals for the rest of the season. This includes the current top sprinter in the world Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek).

Milan won two stages and the green jersey at last year's Tour de France (Image: Zac Williams/SWpix.com)

However, the Italian won’t have it all his own way as there a number of top sprinters on the startline, including Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Premier Tech) Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step), Arnaud De Lie (Lotto Intermarché) and Sam Welsford (Ineos Grenadiers).