Profiles & Route Tirreno-Adriatico 2025

From the 10th to 16th of March the World Tour peloton races Tirreno-Adriatico. This is in itself one of the most important stage-races of the year; but simultaneously it serves as preparation for the spring classics and also as a test for the Giro d'Italia. It will be a week of high-octane racing across Italy! We take a look at the profiles.

There will be an individual time-trial to kick things off; two stages for the sprinters that shouldn't be too hard; one mountain stage with a summit finish and three hilly stages with different types of climbs and profiles that can suit breakaways, classics riders and some sprinters alike. Inbetween are also very long days on the bike, perhaps the ideal preparation for both Milano-Sanremo and the other monuments.

The race kicks off with an 11-kilometer time-trial in Lido di Camaiore, as usual. A day for the specialists, but also one where the GC battle will begin and small differences can be created ahead of a week where there is only one more stage that truly assures differences are created.

The course is incredibly simple, as it's a perfect out-and-back. 5.75 kilometers in one direction, one 180-degree corner and then take the same road back to the finish line pretty much. All about the pure power and speed, and little else will matter.

Stage 2 from Camaiore to Follonica is the only day where the sprinters should have nothing to worry about. The 190 kilometers have only two small ascents, and a bunch sprint is very hard to prevent with such a profile.

There is a two-kilometer ascent right at the start of the day, but at this point in the race there shouldn't be anyone trying to use it for a dangerous escapee group. A small ascent with 63 kilometers to go and an intermediate sprint with 19 to go will be points of interest, but this is a day just for the bunch sprint.

In Follonica there will be an exciting finale, and also a dangerous one I'd say. A fully flat one, it will be very fast at the end of what should be a calm day, and then we have a 90-degree corner with 250 meters to go. There will be a full leadout to this corner, and from there on it will pretty much be a sprint all the way to the line. A day for the teams with the best leadout to succeed.

The third day of racing is a mixed one, with plenty scenarios possible to decide the stage. The 240 kilometers on the bike will make it a long and challenging day, with a few climbs on the menu. A small bunch sprint or late attack can succeed on the day.

3200 meters of climbing throughout the day, which can leave it's mark. However most of the climbs will just be used by the breakaway riders, in the peloton things should remain rather calm until the kilometers leading up to the final ascent. There should be a fast leadout, as the hardest section is it's base.

1.6 kilometers at 9% open it up, ending with 20.8 kilometers to go. A tempting piece of climbing, but it then flattens almost completely for about 9 kilometers. The last 7 kilometers of the climb average around 5%. This won't be a climb where big differences will be made or the GC riders can distance each other... Instead it will become very tactical, certainly.

The gradients allow for a lot of slipstreaming, and so the main GC riders should be covered heavily. It gives chance to some GC riders attempting to go for the stage win, but escaping can depend on timing and luck. Additionally, the lack of steepness in the climb allows for puncheurs and classics riders to hang on and have suited terrain here to give it a shot.

The climb ends with only 4 kilometers to go, and half of the way to the finish line is then downhill... Organizing a chase to the end here will be very hard and anyone who has a gap can go on to take the win. The finale in Colforito is not technical and the final kilometers are almost completely straightforward, so the chances of seeing a small group sprint deciding the outcome are also high.

Stage 4 into Trasacco could end in a sprint but this is a day designed for a breakaway and where many riders will be testing their form. The first two thirds of the stage are in a constant up-and-down and the climbs are not easy at all. Having an organized chase will be a challenge, but there will be plenty riders looking to take advantage of the opportunity.

Right from the get go, 14.3 kilometers at 4.7%. Here many riders can use the opportunity to launch an attack and form a breakaway. With this race having only one mountain stage (where you can't expect huge gaps), many can even aim to gain time here and then potentially fight for the GC win. It's a very threatening day where a lot can happen and the start should be explosive.

We've got some downhill and then two more ascents (one of 7.5 kilometers at 5%; and the other 12.4 kilometers at 5.7%). The last one will end with 85 kilometers to go. Don't expect defining GC attacks here, but a breakaway can build a good gap as most sprinters will have to ride a very controlled pace here and the peloton will inevitably either ride slow or lose most of the men that can fight for the win at the end. A very interesting dynamic can be formed.

There will still be a lot of descending and only the final 50 kilometers will be flat. Don't be mistaken, in this amount of time gaps can be closed a lot, but it will depend largely on what happens earlier in the day. It's not a pan-flat arrival either, as with 5 kilometers to go there is a small 9% ramp where you could see some moves. If it comes down to a sprint, it will be flat and not very technical in Trasacco.

The fifth day of racing is not too different from the previous one, with tons of climbs scattered all across the 205 kilometers into Pergola. The climbs are not too hard, but the difference on this day is that the final ones are the tougher ones, and we could see some moves from the GC riders before the stage ends.

Perhaps it doesn't look like it, but there are 3500 meters of climbing here. Even raced conservatively, you struggle to imagine a sprint deciding the stage (unless it's between a very select few who can climb very well). Chances of a breakaway succeeding are also not low, as it's neither a full sprint or GC day, and many will not want to take responsibility. With a decent amount of climbing early on, there is definitely terrain for the strong men to attack.

The final two climbs will be the key moments of the day. The first is 6.3 kilometers long at 4.7% ending with 26.5 kilometers to go and having a technical descent afterwards - which means a fast-paced ascent, with a fight for position at the top. It won't take long before the riders reach the base of the final one.

Into Monterolo (3.9Km; 6.6%) the peloton goes, and the climb is very inconsistent, with steep ramps from start to finish but some less steep areas as well. We will have double-digit gradients, and spots for the GC riders to try and make the difference. It wil be an open finale where puncheurs can certainly have a big say, as the climbs on the day are not long and are largely explosive.

The climb ends with only 7.5 kilometers to go and the descent will go by in a flash, it is very steep and not very technical, meaning gaps will open up quickly. The final 4 kilometers will then be flat (with a slight uphill ramp entering the final kilometer) but not technical, so it's still possible to conduct a chase. All-in-all, a stage designed for some chaos.

The queen stage. Short, with only one big climb, but the GC men will try to have the best possible legs here. Many smalls ascents will eventually lead the riders onto the base of the 7-kilometer long ascent into Fortignano where the climbers will have their opportunity.

There truly isn't much to analyze, as there is about a dozen climbs throughout the day but none will take the spotlight alongside the final one. It is a Tirreno classic, not a uni-puerto stage, but it is all about saving the legs towards the end. Still, a small climb at the start, and 3400 meters of accumulated climbing meters.

The ascent to the Fortignano ski station will decide the day. 7.6 kilometers at 7.9%. It's hard, but not brutal. You can make gaps here, but if you enter it too far away from the lead, it won't be easy to take much time back between the strongest riders.

It will be a climb with plenty switchbacks and a very hard first half, there is a 2.5-kilometer section averaging almost 10% where attacks can come and make the difference. The gradients ease down ever so slightly in the final kilometers, but nevertheless fireworks can be expected from the best climbers in this peloton.

The race ends as is usual, in San Benedetto del Tronto with a stage for the sprinters. However the distance is short and there are two tricky climbs halfway through the day, so there is danger of a strong breakaway threatening to take it - as long as they can scape in the flat start to the stage.

This is a day where in the past breakaways have succeeded, from kilometer 42 to 57 there will be two climbs where if a team wants to push hard or attack, it will be hard to control... Very explosive terrain. Afterwards the riders descent back into town and find very fast and pan-flat urban roads where it is not easy to close in gaps. The speed needs to be constantly quite high.

A bunch sprint still, is the most likely scenario. There is going to be a race towards a small chicane with 750 meters to go. A pan-flat sprint follows, one for the purists.