Just 48 hours after Strade Bianche's solo victory on dirt roads, Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) will resume action on Monday in Tirreno-Adriatico.

Mathieu Van de Pol (Alpecin-Desseuninck), Julien Alaphilippe (Soudal-Quick Step), Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ), Tige Benoot (Jumbo-Visma), and Quinn Simmons (Trek-Segafredo) will also be in action Saturday After suffering on the gravel roads of Tuscany on Saturday, they will have a difficult start in the opening time trial on Monday, while Wout Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma), Biniam Girmay (Intermarché Circus Wanty) and Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers), Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates), Ben O'Connor (AG2R Citroen) and Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe) are all fresh legs and looking for important stage wins and overall success in Italy.

Tirreno-Adriatico used to be the best path to peak spring form and a possible Milano-Sanremo win, but the change from Monday to Sunday makes the overall win as prestigious as any other weekend stage race.

Taddei Pogacar, Michael Matthews, Mads Pedersen, and others chose Paris-Nice. However, others, such as Trek-Segafredo's Jasper Steiven, did not run Paris-Nice before heading to Belgium and jumped straight to Milan-San Remo.

Van Aert, who missed Strade Bianche after falling ill during the high altitude training camp, will make his season debut in Tirreno-Adriatico. Like Van der Poer, Alaphilippe, and Peter Sagan, who suffered in Strade Bianche, the next seven days of racing will be an important path for them to return to peak form. Some will be under pressure to deliver results, and all will be hoping to find their best form. [O'Connor, Hindley, Alexandre Vlasov (Bora-Hansgrohe), Pinot, Tao Geoghegan Hart (Ineos Grenadiers), and Enric Mas (Movistar) will all be fighting for the overall win and the glamorous trident championship trophy.

Geraint Thomas was scheduled to make his European debut in Tirreno-Adriatico, but ill health has further delayed his preparation for the Giro d'Italia. In contrast, Primoz Roglic made a late entry to Tirreno-Adriatico after recovering from winter shoulder surgery and having worked well at altitude in recent weeks.

Two-time winner Pogacar will not compete in Paris-Nice due to changes in the 2023 race program, while UAE Team Emirates will look to Joao Almeida, Brandon McNulty, and Adam Yates for a third straight win. [Mark Cavendish is part of the Astana Kazakstan lineup and will make his European debut in Italy. Other sprinters to watch include Jake Stewart (Groupama-FDJ), Gil May, Nasser Bouhanni (Cofidis), and Alberto Dainese (Team DSM).

Meanwhile, Gana is by far the favorite in Monday's time trial before sprinters and climbers get a chance.

Tirreno-Adriatico used to end with a seaside time trial on Wednesday. Now the road stage will take place the following Sunday, and the first day's time trial will be the first time the gap between the riders is created.

Who can beat Ganna on the flat 11.5 km out-and-back course along the Tuscan seafront remains to be seen. The Hour Record holder won a similar stage in 2022, beating Remco Evenpoel and Pogacar by 11 and 18 seconds, respectively. A similar result is expected this year, and it will be interesting to see how much time pure climbers like Yates and Mas will lose to their GC rivals. Others like McNulty and Almeida could gain a discrete advantage early on.

Tirreno-Adriatico heads south to Follonica on Tuesday, where a sprint finish is expected.

The climb begins with a 3.1km 7% climb to the finish in the center of Tortoreto on stage 3. The mountain finish is at Sarnano Sassotet on stage 5, with a 13.1 km climb averaging 7.4% to the finish.

Last year, Pogacar beat Jonas Vingegaard by a minute on a similar stage to Calpeña in snow and cold. This year, it will be a real mountain finish in Sassotet.

The climb continues around Osimo on stage 6, a 193-km course that climbs like a shark's tooth up the steep hill of Le Marche. In Tirreno-Adriatico, this course often blows the peloton out of the water.

The overall winner of Tirreno-Adriatico will be decided in San Benedetto del Tronto, but only after a 154 km road stage that includes an early climb and five laps along the sea.

The stage winner and overall winner will have bragging rights as they head north to Milan-San Remo and Milan-Torino in midweek, but everyone will be hoping to finish Tirreno-Adriatico in much better shape than they started.

Cycling News will bring you live full stage reports, news, interviews, and analysis from Stephen Farrand, who will be in Italy for the race.

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