It has never happened before that the dominant four Grand Tour winners have all raced in a WorldTour stage event.
 
Alberto Contador (Giro d’Italia 2008, Tour de France 2007, 2009, Vuelta a Espana 2008, 2012, 2014), Christopher Froome (Tour de France 2013), Vincenzo Nibali (Vuelta a Espana 2010, Giro d’Italia 2013, Tour de France 2014) and Nairo Quintana (Giro d’Italia 2014) guarantee an unprecedented spectacle for the 50th edition of the Tirreno Adriatico, organised by RCS Sport/La Gazzetta dello Sport and held from 11 to 17 March.
 
THE MAIN PROTAGONISTS
Contador is the reigning champion of the Tirreno Adriatico also known as the “Race of the Two Seas”; Nibali won two consecutive editions (2012 and 2013) and is looking for his hat trick; Froome, second in 2012, is looking for his first victory in this race; Quintana, second in 2014 and reigning Giro d’Italia champion, is also a favourite to succeed at the “Race of the Two Seas”.
 
The stellar line-up continues outside of the GC. Another great challenge is expected to take place between the fastest wheels of the peloton, where Mark Cavendish, Marcel Kittel and Elia Viviani will be the major protagonists in the bunch sprints.
 
And Peter Sagan, Fabian Cancellara, Joaquim Rodriguez, Daniel Martin and Filippo Pozzato are all expected to fight for the finisseur stages, such as the Arezzo one, where Sagan triumphed last year.
 
LAST EDITION WINNER DECLARATIONS
Alberto Contador, Tirreno Adriatico 2014 winner, said: “I am really looking forward to returning to this race because I had fantastic sensation there last year, and it gives me another opportunity to meet the Italian fans, who have always made me feel at home."
 
TEAM LIST
22 teams, each made of 8 riders, will race. The teams and their main riders are:
AG2R LA MONDIALE (FRA) – Pozzovivo, Betancur
ASTANA PRO TEAM (KAZ) – Nibali, Cataldo
BARDIANI CSF (ITA) – Battaglin, Pirazzi
BMC RACING TEAM (USA) – Van Avermaet, De Marchi
BORA – ARGON 18 (GER) – Huzarski, Bennett
COLOMBIA (COL) – Duarte, Rubiano Chavez
ETIXX – QUICK STEP (BEL) – Cavendish, Uran
FDJ (FRA) – Pinot, Roy
IAM CYCLING (SUI) – Brändle, Pelucchi
LAMPRE – MERIDA (ITA) – Pozzato, Modolo
LOTTO SOUDAL (BEL) – Van Den Broeck, Roelandts
MOVISTAR TEAM (ESP) – Quintana, Malori
MTN – QHUBEKA (RSA) – Boasson Hagen, Ciolek
ORICA GREENEDGE (AUS) – Durbridge, Yates
TEAM CANNONDALE – GARMIN (USA) – Martin, Hesjedal
TEAM EUROPCAR (FRA) – Rolland, Arashiro
TEAM GIANT – ALPECIN (GER) – Kittel, Mezgec
TEAM KATUSHA (RUS) – Rodriguez, Moreno
TEAM LOTTO NL – JUMBO (NED) – Gesink, Vanmarcke
TEAM SKY (GBR) – Froome, Viviani
TINKOFF – SAXO (RUS) – Contador, Sagan
TREK FACTORY RACING (USA) – Cancellara, Mollema
 
THE STAGES
The race will start from Camaiore’s renowned Lido, in the Italian Versilia region, with a 22.7km Team Time Trial.
 
The second stage, starting from Camaiore and finishing in Cascina (153km), is mostly flat and is likely to see the fastest wheels in the peloton sprint for the finish.
 
Cascina will be the starting location of the 203km third stage and, as per last year, will end up in Arezzo on the same climb that saw Peter Sagan win.
 
Saturday the 14th will see a deceptively challenging 226km fourth stage, held predominantly between the Umbrian and Le Marche regions. The stage will start from Indicatore (Arezzo) with four King of the Mountain climbs: Foce dello Scopetone, Poggio San Romualdo and the final Crispiero climb twice just before the short descent towards Castelraimondo.
 
The 197km Queen stage will be held on Sunday 15th, starting from Esanatoglia and finishing at the summit of Monte Terminillo (1,675m), with two KOM climbs in the initial and central phases of the day (Passo Sallegri and Le Arette climbs).
 
The 210km penultimate stage, which is ideal for sprinters, will bring the peloton from Rieti to Porto Sant’Elpidio.
 
The 50th edition of the “Race of the Two Seas” will again come to a close in San Benedetto del Tronto, with a final-day 10km Individual Time Trial crowning the winner of the Tirreno Adriatico.

You can download maps and altimetry profiles from the website www.tirrenoadriatico.it

RACE JERSEYS AND SPONSORS
The jerseys worn by the leader of each race classification will be four. The jerseys have been designed by Maglificio Santini which has created a special logo in honour of the 50th year of the race.
 
BLUE JERSEY – BANCA MEDIOLANUM, General Classification leader’s jersey
RED JERSEY – ACQUA FIUGGI, Points Classification leader’s jersey
WHITE JERSEY – SELLE ITALIA, Young Rider General Classification leader’s jersey
GREEN JERSEY – SPRANDI, King of the Mountain Classification leader’s jersey