First organized in 1966 this great Italian stage race has historically been an early season target for Grand Tour specialists. The seven days of racing from the Tyrrhenian Coast to the Adriatic coast have been the stage for epic battles with Alberto Contador, Vincenzo Nibali, Chris Froome, Tadje Pogačar, and Primož Roglić.

But perhaps the coolest thing about the race is the trophy, The Gilded Trident, The Sea Master trophy. Which is ceremonially raised from the Tyrrhenian Sea by the Italian Coast Guard Divers. Really leaning on the whole marine vibe just stealing Neptune’s trident. Not really the guy I’d be messing with being a coastal town but I’m just here to talk about cycling.

SIROTTI 

The 2013 (48th) Edition of the Tirreno-Adriatico is a great example of what makes this race so good. It began in Stage 2 with the birth of a legend as Mark Cavendish dons his first leaders jersey of his career after a commanding performance by Omega Pharma-Quickstep in the team time trial of Stage 1. So commanding that they were the last team to run the race before the rain stopped and were still able to put down the best time down on the course.

But Stage 4… wow. Pure fire. Team Sky was setting the pace up the climb of Prati di Tivo as Contador kicked it and attacked with 6.2km from the finish at the top of the climb and ran off uncontested for the intermediate sprint points which put him only 1 second behind Froome in GC. He slowly made his way back to the back of the pack until he attacks again with only 2.4km to go!

Rigoberto Uran takes off in defense of Froome to try and reel Contador back in but then Vincenzo Nibali attacks with 1.9km to go! He brings SantAmbrosia with him and connects with Contador near the top of the climb!

I am screaming at this point as Sky does nothing… they just sit there.. WHY ARE YOU JUST SITTING THERE THEY ARE ALL ATTACKING AND THE FINISH Is….right….there.

That’s the moment Team Sky’s steady pace connects with the group and Chris Froome takes off. Done. Stage Over. Chris Froome is king!….for now.

The feisty Contador was only able to finish in 6th with SantAmbrosia coming in 2nd and Nibali finishing the podium for stage 4.

I am telling you right now, I did a poor job selling this stage. It was that good. Please go watch it!

Whooooo!

Okay… I’m ok. Got a little too excited there… but that’s what makes the race so good. It’s the GC riders’ playground early in the season. They get to show off where they are in their training to set the tone for the rest of the season. They do not want to start the GC season by being handed a dominant LOSS from their rival. They show up and try to blow up their foes. And with the cycling-crazed Italian fans, it’s hard not to get hyped!

The 2024 edition has the potential of being no less exciting. The “Big Two” don’t meet until the Tour De France, but the top dog, Jonas Vingegaard, is setting himself up for his second stage race win of the early season with Tirreno in his targets and he’s bringing a nasty team.

Team UAE has the strongest team by a longshot but Primoz Roglic and Bora Hansgrohe would love to spoil the Killer Bees and dominant UAE’s hopes of an easy victory. It’s not a monument, it’s not a Grand Tour, but the race has all the drama and a kick-ass trophy!