Super last minute not-at-all rushed because I’ve been very busy Tirreno preview go! Round 2 of the stage race championship is here and it looks to be an open and very interesting battle for supremacy amongst some top, top riders. Seeing as I have limited time and it’s already gone 8pm, let’s get to it!
The Route
A short individual time trial kicks things off quickly followed by two probable sprint stages. Then the GC fun begins with a punchy uphill finish on stage 4, a proper summit finish on stage 5, and absolute chaos on stage 6. Stage 7 should round things off with another sprint.
Seriously, stage 6 looks incredible. Think stage 4 from the 2021 edition, and all the fun that was had that day. I’m expecting more of the same, just with a different cast list. Here’s the profile to whet your appetite.
The Riders
There are so many interesting riders racing here, it’s hard to mention them all, especially when I’m short of time, but I’ll do my best. Firstly, I’ll say the general classification (GC) is wide open, any one of around 11 riders could win here, including the following:
Enric Mas (20)
Aleksandr Vlasov (18)
Adam Yates (18)
Jai Hindley (14)
Thymen Arensman (14)
Tom Pidcock (12)
Mikel Landa (18)
Primož Roglič (22)
João Almeida (16)
A few general pointers at this junction: Roglič is taking part in his first competition since shoulder surgery. He was down to return for Volta Catalunya, but he’s starting early. You’re guess is as good as mine for what this means. With a field this open, my advice is to steer away from expensive riders, unless you know for certain that they’ll score big. And that means a high GC finish and several good placings on stages. I don’t see any guarantees here, so it’s about who you can fit in, or who your favourites are, because there are a few riders who will score big.
Top of this list, is the imperious Wout Van Aert, who’s coming in as the most expensive rider at 26 credits. Now I’m not going to say he’s a favourite for the overall, but the only stumbling block for him is the summit finish. If someone else rides that at incredible pace, then he’ll suffer. He could theoretically win every single other stage though.
Mathieu van der Poel and Biniam Girmay are the other punchy sprinty types available for 16 and 12 credits respectively. The former didn’t look spectacular at the recent Strade Bianche, but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything where he’s concerned. Girmay however, has started his season promisingly, but he hasn’t performed well everywhere. I still think he’s a good bet for good stage results here. Tom Pidcock arrives after a brilliant display on the gravel around Siena on Saturday, and you can pick him up for 12 credits, along with his teammate Filipo Ganna, also 12 credits, a good bet for opening stage time trial success.
I’m keen now to give a long list of names I’m considering picking for my team so I can wrap this up and you’ll have time to read and pick your teams before tomorrow’s deadline. So here goes:
Jasper Philipsen (14)
Santiago Buitrago (12)
Wilco Kelderman (12)
Fernando Gaviria (12)
Dylan Groenewegen (12)
Valentin Madouas (10)
Guilio Ciccone (10)
Lennard Kämna (8)
Axel Zingle (8)
Magnus Sheffield (8)
Samuela Battistella (6)
Mikkel Frølich Honoré (6)
Lorenzo Rota (6)
Dylan Van Baarle (6)
German Nicolás Tivani (6)
Valentin Ferron (6)
Samuela Zoccarato (4)
Marius Mayrhofer (4)
Simon Pellaud (4)
There are some obvious omissions and I’ll leave you to wonder why that might be. Anyway, I’m off, happy picking, and hope you’re enjoying the racing! See you in the mini-league.
The Pelotonian 