Tirreno-Adriatico (ITA)  - 14-20.03.2007

(This event is on the 2007 UCI ProTour calendar but does not hold a UCI ProTour licence)

Coming just a few days before the Milano-Sanremo one-day race, the Tirreno-Adriatico stage race often shows who is on form and ready to challenge for the big spring classics. Tirreno-Adriatico is named after the two seas on each side of central Italy and the race always startsclose to the western Tirreno coast near Rome and finishes overlooking the Adriatico with either a short time trial or a flat stage ideal for sprinters in the town of San Benedetto del Tronto. In between there are several twisting, hilly stages in the central Apennines that test riders fitness and show who can climb and sprint after a tough day of racing. Tirreno-Adriatico was first created in 1966 and was dominated by Roger De Vlaeminck of Belgium in the early seventies, while Italian idols Giuseppe Saronni and Francesco Moser battled for success in the early eighties. In 1993 and 1994 Maurizio Fondriest and Giorgio Furlan won Tirreno-Adriatico and then Milano-Sanremo, and current World Champion Paolo Bettini has always been competitive in both races in recent years. Spain’s Oscar Freire won in 2005 thanks to his combined sprinting and climbing ability, while talented Dutchman Thomas Dekker won last year after an impressive performance in the hills and the decisive time trial.