After two days of waiting, the sprinters will be eager to battle in the relatively flat stag 3. Caleb Ewan will be one of the favourites for the victory this Friday. The Australian rider is ready to prove himself in Europe after his great start in Australia with three win (two at the Tour Down Under and one at the Herald Sun Tour). He rode impressively on the climbs in Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne (15th) to prove that the form is still excellent. He has proved that he has the speed to beat almost everyone, most notably in last year’s Vuelta.

"It's not going to be a straight forward sprint stage, it's going to be a tough day out but if any of the stages come down to a sprint, it's going to be that one," the Orica GreenEDGE rider told Cyclingnews. "Obviously if there's only one real sprint stage in this year's Tirreno-Adriatico, then all the sprinters and their teams are going to be up for it. I think it's going to be a pretty tough one. I had a pretty big season in Australia already during the summer down there. I'm probably a little bit tired from that but I'm feeling pretty good," he explained.

"This is going to be my last race for this block, so I'll be able to enjoy a bit of a break soon enough."