The 51st edition of Tirreno-Adriatico will take place from 9 March 2016 till 15 March 2016. In seven stages, the peloton will ride through the centre of Italy from the Tyrrhenian to the Adriatic coast. There’s something for everyone this year.
This stage race starts with a team time trial of almost 23 kilometres in Lido di Camaiore. The first stage begins with a run-up of 150 kilometres before the climb. At the end there’s a second hill with parts up to 18%. Day three is an opportunity for the sprinters, although there’s a slight uphill road at about 300 metres from the finish. After that, a transitional stage. There are four climbs, the final one is at fifteen kilometres from the end.
The fifth stage will be very important for the GC. Five mountains and an uphill finish. The day after will possibly be a chance for the sprinters, but the final five kilometres are tough. The race ends with an individual time trial of ten kilometres on a flat course. The time trial probably won’t influence the GC positions.
Lotto Soudal will include Bart De Clercq, Maxime Monfort and Tiesj Benoot. The competition for the overall victory is expected from Vincenzo Nibali, Tejay Van Garderen, Thibaut Pinot and Bauke Mollema. The winner of last year, Nairo Quintana, won’t start.
Riders Maxime Monfort and Rafael Valls give a preview.
Maxime Monfort: “All riders stay in Italy after the Strade Bianche because the line-up for Tirreno-Adriatico is the same. The days between these two races will be used to rest and to do some little trainings of about two hours. The Tirreno starts with a team time trial this year, a beautiful discipline. It’s something special but I like it though, you really need to ride as a team. The strong riders will do the bigger part of the work, if someone is very good then it’s difficult because you need to be vigilant with regard to the rest of the team. It will be a matter of giving your all without dropping the others. Even if you’re used to ride with each other, it remains very tough.”
“In the past, I always participated in Paris-Nice. Last year I rode my first Tirreno-Adriatico. This race may be considered as a preparation on the Giro d’Italia because some stages in this Tirreno are also scheduled in the Giro. But I always aim for a good position on GC in every stage race. I’m very motivated and I’m in a good shape but if someone else of the team is better than me, then I’ll do my very best to defend his position as well as possible.”
“After the Volta ao Algarve I had a good feeling, although I was a bit disappointed about my performance in the time trial. But okay, I get a new chance in Tirreno to do it better. The condition is good, the past two weeks I was able to train well. We start with a very decent team, I really look forward to this race.”
Rafael Valls: “I didn’t race since the Tour Down Under, because the riders who participated in this race got a rest period. When I came back from Australia, I did some trainings of about two hours during the first week. I took the time to recover. The weeks after that I trained more and longer in my home region. I really look forward to race after I’ve been out of competition for a month.”
“It’s the first time that I participate in Tirreno-Adriatico. I aim for a top ten position on GC. The main competitors will be Kwiatkowski, Nibali, Valverde and Van Garderen. I expect that they will fight for the overall victory, they’re very good climbers and they can ride a decent time trial as well.”
“Two time trials are scheduled in this stage race. That’s not my best discipline, but I’ve been working on it. We’ll do a recon of the course of the team time trial beforehand. That stage will be important for the GC, time gaps will already be created during this team time trial. The individual time trial is only ten kilometres long, that’s good for me. I’m interested in the second and fifth stage, I think I have a chance to obtain a stage win during these days.”
Line-up Lotto Soudal: “Tiesj Benoot, Jens Debusschere, Bart De Clercq, Pim Ligthart, Tomasz Marczynski, Maxime Monfort, Jürgen Roelandts and Rafael Valls.
Sports directors: Bart Leysen and Mario Aerts.
Stages:
09/03 Stage 1: Lido di Camaiore (TTT) (22.7km)
10/03 Stage 2: Camaiore – Pomarance (207km)
11/03 Stage 3: Castelnuovo val di Cecina – Montalto di Castro (176km)
12/03 Stage 4: Montalto di Castro – Foligno (222km)
13/03 Stage 5: Foligno – Monte San Vicino (Matelica) (176km)
14/03 Stage 6: Castelraimondo – Cepagatti (210km)
15/03 Stage 7: San Benedetto del Tronto (ITT) (10km)
