'Return to tradition' - Gravel but no mountaintop finish in 2026 Tirreno-Adriatico

The 2026 Tirreno-Adriatico will feature a tough sector of gravel in the finale of stage 2 to San Gimignano but there will be no mountaintop finish on this year’s route.

Speaking at the presentation in Ancona on Friday, race director Stefano Allocchio outlined that the route was still a demanding one, with more than 15,000 of total altitude gain across its seven stages.

“The route stems from a desire to return to the tradition of this race, which over the years has always been extremely selective even without resorting to uphill finishes,” Allocchio told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “There are stages with more than 3,500 or 4,000 metres of elevation gain and that will require real completeness.” 

In keeping with recent tradition, Tirreno-Adriatico begins in Lido di Camaiore with an 11.5km individual time trial. The race remains in Tuscany for stage 2, with the terrain becoming increasingly rugged as the day progresses. The finale sees the gruppo tackle 5km of gravel road on the climb towards San Gimignano.

Stage 3 to Magliano de’ Marsi and stage 4 to Martinsicuro should provide an opportunity for the sprinters, while riders with designs on Milan-San Remo will be glad to bank endurance miles on two more days that exceed 200km in distance.

The most demanding stages of the race come in the Marche. There is scarcely a metre of flat on stage 5 to Mombaroccio, where the finale features the climb of Monte della Mattera and twin ascents of the stiff ascent to Santuario Beato Sante.

The 1,465m-high climb of Sassottetto, which has been used as a summit finish in previous years, features early on stage 6, but the key action should come in the final 60km, where riders will take on three ascents of the short, steep climb to Camerino. 

There will be another opportunity for the sprinters on the short, flat final stage to San Benedetto del Tronto, scene of so many mass finishes over the years at Tirreno-Adriatico.

The field promises to be a strong one, with Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), Wout van Aert, Matteo Jorgenson (Visma | Lease a Bike), Jai Hindley, Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), Arnaud De Lie (Lotto-Intermarché), Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) and Filippo Ganna (Ineos) all expected to start. 2025 winner Juan Ayuso (Lidl-Trek) will be absenting, instead lining up at Paris-Nice.