On Monday RCS Sport released the route of the 2017 Tirreno-Adriatico, the Race Between the Two Seas, in Camaiore, Tuscany. The 52nd edition is once again bookended with time trials, a team effort and an individual chrono, with three climbers’ stages and two days for the sprinters. The Terminillo climb returns for 2017.
A 22.7-km flat team time trial kicks off the 2017 Tirreno-Adriatico in Camaiore on March 8. An uphill finish greets the riders the next day before the first sprint stage into Montalto Di Castro on March 10.
The queen stage, concluding on the Terminillo (16-km with an average gradient of 7.3% and maximum of 12%) comes in the middle of the race. In 2016 Nairo Quintana won on the Terminillo in the snow to take his first trident trophy.
Another little climb caps off Stage 5 in Fermo. The fast men have their last chance in Civitanova Marche on the penultimate day. Finally, the conclusion of the 2017 Tirreno-Adriatico is March 14 individual time trial of 10.1km in San Benedetto del Tronto, the route having reached the Adriatic sea.
“The route follows the one proposed in recent years with the initial and final time trials, two sprint stages, two stages for finisseur, and an uphill finish that this year returns to the Terminillo,” race director Stefano Allocchio said at the presentation. “The formula we have proposed has been successful and gives the opportunity to all riders to better express their characteristics and, at the end of the seven stages, to crown a complete athlete at the highest level.”
Daniele Bennati, who is heading to Movistar next year, was on hand and indicated that his new teammate, Colombian Nairo Quintana, might include it in his racing programme.
“This is a race that both me and my fellow pro riders like a lot because it allows everyone to compete at their best. I will focus on sprint stages and I really like the individual time trial too where I have come second in the past.”
