The lingering effects of Strade Bianche were obvious in Stage 1 of Tirreno-Adriatico, which consisted of an 11.5km time trial along the Adriatic Sea. Thymen Arensman (INEOS Grenadiers) was the best-placed of the GC riders, followed closely by Primož Roglič (Red Bull – BORA – hansgrohe) and Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain – Victorious). By the end of the seven-day race, only one of these riders would finish in the top 10, with Roglič coming fifth. Instead, it was North Americans Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates – XRG) and Matteo Jorgenson (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) who came out on top.
Over the course of a week in Italy, the race was flipped on its head multiple times. There were surprise stage winners, dramatic crashes and inspiring comebacks, but above all, there were dazzling performances from the superstars of professional cycling.
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8w/kg Climbs and Gravel Chaos
(Image credit: Getty Images)
After disappointing time trials in Stage 1, Del Toro and Jorgenson were sitting in 10th and 16th place of the General Classification, respectively. But that would all change in an instant during Stage 2 to San Gimignano. The 206km route featured a decisive gravel sector with around 12km to go, and that is where Mathieu Van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech) launched his winning move.
The Dutchman pushed the pace so hard that only Jorgenson could follow initially. But when they came to a steep turn, the eight-time cyclocross world champion relied on his superb bike handling skills to swing wide, while Jorgenson went down in the soft gravel. With the American losing his chance at a stage win, Del Toro and Pellizzari went across the Van der Poel, making contact with a few kilometres to go.
In a nail-biting sprint, Van der Poel held off the GC riders, while Jorgenson finished 16th and lost more than 20 seconds in the GC after factoring in bonus seconds. Stage 3’s bunch sprint gave the GC riders a rest, but then it was back to furious racing on Stage 4.
The small bumps on the profile didn’t look like much, but Team Visma | Lease a Bike turned those molehills into mountains. On the final climb of the Tortoreto (1.5km at 8.4%), Jorgenson lit the race on fire with a power output of over 500w. The American reduced the field to just 14 riders, including GC riders like Del Toro and Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility), as well as Van der Poel and teammate Wout van Aert.
We are talking about a four-minute effort at nearly 8w/kg here. It’s the effort that will put you on the podium of a hilly Classic like Liège-Bastogne-Liège, which just so happens to be one of Jorgenson’s goals this spring.
Johannessen – Stage 4 Final Climb – Tortoreto
(Image credit: Screengrabs from Strava Sauce Extension, analyses done by Zach Nehr)
Time: 4:11
Average Power: 478w (7.7w/kg)
Jorgenson: estimated 560w (8w/kg)
Van Aert: 590w (7.6w/kg)
Despite Jorgenson’s efforts, Van der Poel overtook Van Aert in the final sprint to claim a dominant victory. To everyone’s surprise, Pellizzari finished second in the sprint, taking enough bonus seconds to move past Del Toro and into the GC lead. But it wouldn’t last long.
Stage 5 to Mombaroccio was the hardest of the race so far, with nearly 4,000 metres of climbing packed into the 184km route. The breakaway of the day ended up winning the stage, with Michael Valgren(EF Education-EasyPost) taking his first victory in more than five years. Just 11 seconds behind, the GC battle was coming down to the final climb.
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Del Toro and Jorgenson traded blows like prize fighters as the gradients neared 20%. They managed to drop everyone but each other, with Johannessen being the best of the rest, just 10 seconds behind. It was nearly an identical effort to the previous stage – VO2 Max at 8w/kg – but this time with much more fatigue from the previous climbs. Johannessen pushed the exact same power as he did on Stage 4’s climb, but the effort included multiple surges above 10w/kg as he worked to drop his rivals.
Johannessen – Stage 5 Final Climb – Santuario del Beato Sante
(Image credit: Screengrabs from Strava Sauce Extension, analyses done by Zach Nehr)
Time: 3:03
Average Power: 478w (7.7w/kg)
Del Toro: estimated 525w (8.2w/kg) for 2:53
Jorgenson: estimated 575w (8.2w/kg) for 2:53
Del Toro got the best of Jorgenson at the finish line, and took over the GC lead from Pellizzari by 23 seconds. With a bunch sprint expected on the final stage, the GC would come down to the final climb in Stage 6.
The Final GC Showdown
Tirreno-Adriatico’s GC battle wouldn’t end until the final hundred metres of the Camerino, a 3.2km climb that began with a 20% wall. With the bonus seconds in play, Van Aert launched a probing attack in the final few kilometres of Stage 6. He didn’t last long, and next it was Be Healy who went up the road.
Del Toro played it cool as Pellizzari attacked with just over a kilometre to go, letting the Italian dangle and tire himself out. With Jorgenson in his wheel, Del Toro began winding it up for his finishing move. There wasn’t a 1000w spike or vicious attack – Del Toro simply rode everyone off his wheel. It was the dominant display of strength that you might expect from a superstar. Perhaps it reminds you of Del Toro’s Slovenian teammate.
Johannessen – Stage 6 Final Climb – Camerino
(Image credit: Screengrabs from Strava Sauce Extension, analyses done by Zach Nehr)
Time: 2:58
Average Power: 500w (8.1w/kg)
Del Toro: 530w (8.2w/kg) for 2:56
Jorgenson: 570w (8.1w/kg) for 2:59
Del Toro won Stage 6 ahead of Johannessen, who had passed Jorgenson in the final few metres to take six bonus seconds. Pellizzari finished fourth and held onto second in the GC; but that lasted less than 24 hours until Jorgenson earned three bonus seconds in the final stage’s intermediate sprint.
Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) won the final stage in San Benedetto del Tronto, with the final GC podium being Del Toro, Jorgenson and Pellizzari.
So what have we learned from this year’s Tirreno-Adriatico?
Del Toro is a legitimate superstar. He won many races in 2025, but few of them included the best riders in the world. The Mexican dominated this year’s Tirreno-Adriatico, with the Stage 1 time trial being his only disappointing performance.
The same can be said about Jorgenson, who has had a brilliant start to the season. The American showed that he was clearly the second-strongest rider in Tirreno-Adriatico, and without his crash in the gravel on Stage 2, he might’ve been within a few seconds of challenging Del Toro for the overall win. Both riders are lining up at Milan-San Remo this weekend, and with form like this, it wouldn’t be shocking to see them sprinting for the win on the Via Roma.
How we got these numbers
(Image credit: Getty Images)
We used a combination of public Strava files, Velon CC data, and our own calculations to estimate power output. When data was not publicly available, we calculated it using a combination of VAM, speed, time, rider’s weight and historical data.
Riders analysed: