Tirreno – Adriatico 2022 – GC Preview
Stage 1
A flat TT with only one corner. The wind will determine if I go for Ganna or Evenepoel.
Stage 2
A little hilly in the second half of the stage. I think there will be enough teams wanting a sprint.
Stage 3
Another one for the sprinters.
Stage 4
It looks very interesting, but it is not that difficult. I expect very small time gaps in the GC. We might even see the breakaway take the win.
Stage 5
A prober GC stage. A really, really tough climb just outside Fermo will be the main point of action.
Stage 6
The most important stage. Two times up Monte Carpegna. The first part of the descent is not easy either.
Stage 7
Another day for the sprinters.
Weather
It looks like we will have good weather in the coming week.
Contenders
Pogacar – the man of the hour. What a ride in Strade Bianche. The only concern to have is how well his back is, he clearly did seem to be in some sort of pain in the last kilometers. He is on the start list, which means he is ready. He has Majka with him, who will help him deep into the finales. He is good in high mountains and on hilly narrow roads. It will be tough to beat him.
Vingegaard took a win in Drome Classic. After seeing Jumbo-Visma dominate OHN and today’s stage at Paris – Nice, something tells me he is in very good shape too. Sepp Kuss will be a key man on stage 6 for him. I am not sure how well he will do on stage 5, on steep hills and narrow roads, but Drome classic is quite similar. I think he will be on the podium.
INEOS bring Carapaz and Porte. Carapaz will lose some time against the clock but he is could follow Pogacar most of the time in the third week of Le Tour last season. Hard to drop in the mountains, but the TT will cost him a win. Porte looked good in Trofeo Laiguiglia, trying to set up his teammate. He had problems on the descend, and will likely have problems on the descend on Monte Carpegna. His TT will get him a long way.
Lopez will be brilliant on stage 6, but we all know his abilities against the clock.
Evenepoel will do brilliantly against the clock and I think stage 5 suits him too. How well will he do on Monte Carpegna? I do not think he will do very well.
Bahrain – Victorious brings a strong trio. Landa will lose time against the clock but could do very well on Monte Carpegna. Caruso is a question mark, but he is likely not in his Giro form. He gave me mixed signals in Andalucia. Bilbao might just be their best option. He has a good TT and is in stellar form at the moment.
Enric Mas will be the leader for Movistar. He was good on Mallorca and in Valenciana. His TT’s can be a bit hit or miss, so the first stage will give us a good implication of his level. I think he will do quite well.
Who will win?
I think Pogacar will continue his current trend and win.