Ganna's plan to have "Fresher legs for Classics" doesn't prevent another Tirreno TT masterclass

Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) has admitted that he is aiming to have fresher legs for the Classics rather than Tirreno-Adriatico this season, but that didn’t stop the Italian champion from romping to victory in the time trial on the opening stage. 

The Italian finished in a league of his own, 22 seconds ahead of teammate Thymen Arensman (Ineos Grenadiers) and 26 ahead of Max Walscheid (Lidl-Trek).

“It’s stage number five here in Tirreno, but every time it's special, every time it's complicated, every time I try to do the best, it’s not easy,” Ganna told reporters, including CyclingProNet, at the finish.

Ganna’s time of 12:08 on the 11.5km course was nine seconds quicker than twelve months ago, although the Italian put that partly down to the favourable weather conditions. 

“I think the weather conditions were different, it was kind of windy, but today, on the way back to the finish line after the U-turn was really, really fast,” explained Ganna.

Twelve months ago, Ganna started with victory on the opening stage, before holding onto second place in the final GC behind Juan Ayuso.

Before the race kicked off this week, Ganna tempered expectations after last year’s performance, explaining how he wants to feel fresher at the Classics rather than Tirreno, stating, "Last year I was strong in Tirreno, but maybe a bit less in the Classics. Now I try to start those races with fresher legs."

But gaining a significant lead in GC after the opening time trial and with the lack of a mountain-top finish on the route, Ganna was asked how far he thinks he could keep the race lead, and the Italian explained that he is taking each day as it comes and he is sticking to not placing GC expectations on himself.

“Yesterday, I just focused on today. Today, I’m focused on eating and drinking well tonight to recover well. And maybe tomorrow morning, I’ll try to check for the finish of the stage for tomorrow,” said Ganna.

“Like I said yesterday, I’ve come here without ambitions for the GC, just to do an amazing Tirreno, and try to have a good feeling for the Classics,” said Ganna. “So, just this victory and feeling good is a good goal at the moment. Now we will see for the next few days who could be the leader and what we can do in the race.”

With that in mind, Ganna was asked about Ineos Grenadiers' wealth of options for the week ahead after Arensman finished 2nd on the stage and Magnus Sheffield in 4th. Ganna simply replied, “Yeah, it’s really nice,” indicating the good feeling in the camp of the British team.

Stage 2 features gravel inside the final 10km before an uphill rise to the finish, meaning that it could be an important stage for the GC contenders to not lose any time to their rivals.