Tirreno-Adriatico goes steep again in 2023 for key spring test
The 'Race of the Two Seas' has something for everyone in the prestigious, early season GC prize.
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Tirreno-Adriatico, the seven-stage marquee spring stage race across the middle of Italy’s boot set for March 6-12, gets steep again in 2023.
Race organizers revealed course details Thursday for the 58th edition, with familiar starts and finishes in Lido di Camaiore and San Benedetto del Tronto, respectively.
Filling out the “Race of the Two Seas” is a mix of sprint and breakaways stages, one time trial, and one decisive climbing stage. The uphill finish at 1465 meters of Sarnano-Sassotetto on stage 5 could be the race-breaker.
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Across the week, riders will climb 13,800 meters of elevation gain in one of Italy’s most prestigious stage races.
“Like every year, the Tirreno-Adriatico route is open to any solution and represents an important test for everyone,” said Daniele Bennati, head coach of the Italian National Cycling Team. “Given the variety of routes, combined with the presence of great international champions, this appointment can provide me with important indications. I hope that the Italian riders will do well because these are the ideal scenarios in which good performances can help the riders to grow.”
🔱 Questa è la Tirreno-Adriatico 2023!
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🔱 This is the 2023 Tirreno-Adriatico!#TirrenoAdriatico pic.twitter.com/apZt3Z5pwx— Tirreno Adriatico (@TirrenAdriatico) December 1, 2022
Last year, Tadej Pogačar beat back Remco Evenepoel in the pair’s first major GC face-off, with Jonas Vingegaard finishing second overall.
The 2023 edition will open with an 11.5km individual time trial Lido di Camaiore on the Tirreno side of the race.
The next two stages at Camaiore-Follonica and Follonica-Foligno will give the sprinters a chance to confirm their speed ahead of Milano-Sanremo on March 18.
From Umbria, the route descends into Lazio with the Greccio-Tortoreto for a stage of more than 2000m of elevation gain, and features a final circuit of 17 km to be repeated three times.
The keynote climbing stage will be summit finale to Sarnano-Sassotetto, 2km longer than previous editions. High in the Sibillini mountains, the summit is also higher than in previous editions, at 1345m in 2018 when Mikel Landa won, or at 1362m in 2020 with Simon Yates on top first.
The penultimate stage presents the “muri marchigiani” from Osimo Stazione to Osimo, with a final circuit with slopes of more than 20 percent for a total of 3000m of elevation gain.
The finale at San Benedetto del Tronto on the Adriatico side completes the “Race of the Two Seas” with a tidy bunch gallop.
