Date: Monday March 10, 2025 - Sunday March 16, 2025
Start: Lido di Camaiore
Finish: San Benedetto del Tronto
Total distance: 1,147km
Stages: Seven
Defending champion: Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease a Bike)
Held in the middle of Italy's boot, Tirreno-Adriatico has become known as the Race of the Two Seas as the peloton rides from the Tyrrhenian coast, in recent years from Lido di Camaiore, to the Adriatic coast for the finish in San Benedetto del Tronto. It was first raced in 1966, and 2024 will be its 59th edition. The race has become one of Italy's most prestigious stage races and is considered a vital test for any riders aiming to ride the Giro d’Italia two months later.
Roger De Vlaeminck holds the record for the most wins in this race, with a whopping six victories between 1972 and 1977. While there is a list of riders who have won this race twice, including Primož Roglič, Alberto Contador, Vincenzo Nibali and Tadej Pogačar, no one has come close to challenging De Vlaeminck’s record.
Last year, Vingegaard secured the general classification victory, beating second place Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) by 1:24, with former Giro winner Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe) in third. Not only did he take the overall victory, but Vingegaard secured two stage wins on the race’s two summit finishes and in doing so claimed the mountains classification.
Vingegaard will not be defending his title in 2025 and is instead choosing to ride Paris-Nice, which takes place in the same week. The race offers a rare chance for a major stage race victory for a rider other than ‘the big four’ - Vingegaard, Tadej Pogačar (who is focusing on the Classics), Remco Evenepoel (who is recovering from a crash in the off-season), and 2023 winner Primož Roglič, who is following a quieter build-up to the Giro and Tour de France later in the year.
UAE teammates Juan Ayuso and Adam Yates will be contenders for the title. Both have won already in 2025, Ayuso most recently at the Trofeo Laigueglia and the Faun Drôme Classic and Adam Yates secured the GC and a stage win at the Tour of Oman in February. Adam Yates’ brother, Simon will be looking to get the better of his twin and will lead his new team Visma-Lease a Bike. Third-place finisher in 2024, Hindley is back at the race this year and will be looking to challenge the Visma rider and the UAE men. As will Mikel Landa of Soudal–Quick-Step, who won a stage at the race in 2018. Home rider, Giulio Ciccone, will hope to underline his growing GC credentials and has started well this year, coming second to Pogačar at the UAE Tour.
Outside the GC, the race boasts a strong field which includes punchy specialists like Mathieu van der Poel of Alpecin-Deceuninck, Tom Pidcock of Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team and Romain Grégoire of Groupama-FDJ, sprinters such as Biniam Girmay of Intermarché-Wanty, Olaf Kooij of Visma-Lease a Bike and Sam Bennett of Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team, and climbers David Gaudu (Groupama), Pello Bilbao of Bahrain-Victorious, and Richard Carapaz of EF Education - EasyPost. Filippo Ganna of Ineos Grenadiers will be the favourite to secure the first leader’s jersey after the time trial on stage one.
Tirreno-Adriatico teams:
- Alpecin - Deceuninck
- Arkéa - B&B Hotels
- Bahrain - Victorious
- Cofidis
- Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team
- EF Education - EasyPost
- Groupama - FDJ
- Ineos Grenadiers
- Intermarché - Wanty
- Israel - Premier Tech
- Lidl - Trek
- Movistar Team
- Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team
- Red Bull - Bora - hansgrohe
- Soudal Quick-Step
- Team Jayco Alula
- Team Picnic PostNL
- Team Polti VisitMalta
- Team Visma-Lease a Bike
- Tudor Pro Cycling Team
- UAE Team Emirates - XRG
- Uno-X Mobility
- VF Group - Bardiani CSF - Faizanè
- XDS Astana Team
Tirreno-Adriatico route 2025:
Starting in Lido di Camaiore, the 2025 Tirreno-Adriatico is fast out of the blocks with a 11.5km-long individual time trial. The pan-flat route is basically two straight roads with a U-turn in the middle, so will be the perfect opportunity for the time trial specialists to leave it all out on the road. The second stage is largely flat as the peloton heads south to Follonica. The 192km stage has one categorised climb, the 4.1km at 3.8% up Canneto – before it closes on a circuit around the town featuring several tight turns. There is a 90-degree corner at around 300m from the finish.
Stage three is the longest stage of the race at 239km. It will be a long day in the saddle, up and down all the way to the finish, with three categorised climbs, the last of which, the Valico di Colfiorito (18km at 3%), is an extension of the Colle di San Lorenzo climb, which is 1.6km at 9% with sections at 14%. The whole climb is classified as HC and tops out with about 4km to go.
The following stage is another challenging day in the saddle for the riders at 190km between Norcia and Trasacco. The peloton will take on two categorised climbs, the first, the Forca della Civita (14.3km at 4.1%) comes immediately after the flag drop and will be a rude awakening for legs beginning to feel the fatigue of a multi-day race. The second categorised climb starts 91km into the stage and is 12.4km at 5.7% to the top of the Valico La Crocetta. The finish is an undulating circuit in Trasacco.
Stage five to Pergola is another lumpy affair. Despite the stage only having three categorised climbs, the route is littered with climbs and descents. The riders will be climbing almost 3,500m despite reaching a maximum height of 725m.
With an elevation of 3,508m across the day, stage six finishes on the summit at Frontignano, a 7.6km HC climb at 7.9% with a maximum gradient of 12%. As one of the first summit finishes of the season in 2025, it will be an opportunity to see how some riders are faring in March.
The closing stage of the race finishes in San Benedetto del Tronto and is a stage of two halves. The first half of the route climbs up to Ripatransone, which is 8.4km at 4.7% and tops out 56km into the stage. The riders will enter a circuit in San Benedetto, which they will need to complete five times before an all-out sprint to the finish line.
Stage one: Lido di Camaiore - Lido di Camaiore / 11.5km (ITT)
Stage two: Camaiore - Follonica / 192km
Stage three: Follonica - Colfiorito / 239km
Stage four: Norcia - Trasacco / 190km
Stage five: Ascoli Piceno - Pergola / 205km
Stage six: Cartoceto - Frontignano / 163km
Stage seven: Porto Potenza Picena - San Benedetto del Tronto / 147km
