ROME, March 5, 2013 (AFP) – Italy’s Vincenzo Nibali will on Wednesday begin
the defence of his Tirreno-Adriatico title, looking to hold off competition
from 2011 winner Cadel Evans and Tour de France contenders Alberto Contador
and Chris Froome.
The early season stage race, seen as a warm-up for the Milan-Sanremo on
March 17, starts with a 16.9km team time-trial from San Vincenzo to Donoratico
in the west before a six-stage race to San Benedetto del Tronto on the eastern
Adriatic coast.
Astana rider Nibali finished third in last year’s Tour de France but
Contador is out this season to add another first place in cycling’s most
celebrated race after winning in 2007 and 2009 before serving a suspension for
a doping violation.
Contador will also have to sweep aside his Spanish compatriot Joaquim
Rodriguez, who finished top of the UCI World Tour rankings last year and was
also second in the Tour of Italy and third in the Tour of Spain.
Britain’s Froome will also provide a challenge on the back of his
second-place behind Bradley Wiggins in the 2012 Tour de France. Team Sky rider
Froome already has a psychological advantage having beaten Contador into
second in the Tour of Oman.
The Spanish rider will also have to be wary of outsiders such as Moreno
Moser, who won the Strade Bianche on Sunday in Siena ahead of Switzerland’s
Fabian Cancellara and Peter Sagan, of Slovakia, who also line up for the
Tirreno-Adriatico.
Injury-hit Andy Schleck — awarded the 2010 Tour de France victory after
Contador was stripped of the title — will also be on the start line after
finishing his first race since April 2012, the GP Camaiore, in February.
Wednesday’s team-trial is followed by a number of stages tailor-made for
sprinters such as Britain’s former world champion Mark Cavendish, US rider
Tyler Farrar, Germany’s Andre Greipel and Matthew Goss, of Australia.
Tirreno-Adriatico stages:
March 6 prologue: San Vincenzo-Donoratico (16.9km team time-trial)
March 7 stage 1: San Vincenzo-Indicatore (232km)
March 8 stage 2: Indicatore-Narni Scalo (190km)
March 9 stage 3: Narni-Prati di Tivo (173km)
March 10 stage 4: Ortona-Chieti (230km)
March 11 stage 5: Passo San Elpidio-Passo San Elpidio (209km)
March 12 stage 6: San Benedetto del Tronto (9.2km individual time-trial)
