PREVIEW | Tirreno-Adriatico 2023 stage 3 - Second sprint battle

Preview. Stage 3 will be the second opportunity for the sprinters to succeed, as they take a tricky and long stage which should culminate in a bunch sprint at Tirreno-Adriatico.

A hilly day at Tirreno-Adriatico, it should be one for the sprinters. The path to Foligno isn't easy however, with several ascents in the opening part of the day and 216 kilometers on the menu. It's a good test of form for Milano-Sanremo, with three decently sized ascents in the first half of the day.

Start Time: 10:30CET

Finish Time: 16:00CET

The roads will then be rolling into Foligno. It's far from an easy day for the bunch with the 2500 meters of climbing set to leave their mark on several riders. The approach to the line then however will be all that matters in the outcome of the stage.

Unlike stage 2, this sprint will be very technical. An urban sprint, the final 2.5 kilometers features several corners. The most crucial section just before 1 kilometer to go with a long and very tight corners following in quick succession. A chicane follows with 750 meters to go and the riders will gently turn right until the 250 to go mark, which is already time for the sprinters to launch their big for the line. High speeds and adrenaline are expected.

It will be a brutal day on the bike. With well over 200 kilometers and bad weather the riders won't be in for a pleasant day. Cloudy skies, some rain, and strong wind. This will come from the southwest, which to make matters worst comes as a crosswind throughout most of the day. A lot will not be exposed, but there will be sections, specially towards the end where crosswinds are possible. The finale will be urban and covered however.

Fabio Jakobsen - Shown the speed today. Soudal - Quick-Step have the leadout here and they did make it work today. As long as the European Champion is in position the fast and flat sprint should see him as a big contender.

Jasper Philipsen - Alpecin don't have the best of leadouts for Philipsen, but he can position himself alone very well. Today was a good example and despite being his first bunch sprint of the season he almost took the win. He will be in contention again surely.

Fernando Gaviria - Gaviria had Movistar do a great work today in positioning and elsewhere, and in the sprint he absolutely proved to have the form. If he times his sprint better he may ride to victory this time around.

This is a stage without a true man to beat, as is the case in many sprints. Today showed who had the positioning and power best dialed, but each sprint is different and can be decided by only centimeters. These finales with more speed will be suited for the heavyweights such as Dylan Groenewegen, Phil Bauhaus and Jordi Meeus who also place themselves as strong victory contenders, as long as they start it well positioned.

Biniam Girmay and Juan Sebastián Molano were up to the front today as well. Simone Consonni, Alberto Dainese, Nacer Bouhanni and Matteo Moschetti will also be up there. If you're looking into the veteran field the likes of Giacomo Nizzolo, Peter Sagan and Mark Cavendish will also give it a try.

*** Fabio Jakobsen, Jasper Philipsen
** Fernando Gaviria, Dylan Groenewegen, Jordi Meeus
* Phil Bauhaus, Biniam Girmay, Juan Sebastián Molano, Simone Consonni, Alberto Dainese, Nacer Bouhanni, Matteo Moschetti

Pick: Jasper Philipsen