Tirreno-Adriatico 2026: Route

Tirreno–Adriatico starts on Monday 9 March and finishes the following Sunday. In total, the race covers just under 1,200 kilometres and 15,550 metres of climbing. There is no high-mountain stage this year, but the climbers still find plenty to get their teeth into with a series of hilly stages. As always, the race opens with a flat time trial along the Tyrrhenian Sea.

Stage-by-stage breakdown of the 2026 Tirreno-Adriatico

[click the italicised links for detailed stage descriptions]

Last updated: 8 March 2026 – weather forecast added

Stage 1
The individual time trial is 11.5 kilometres long and, with just eight metres of elevation gain, it's as flat as it gets. The riders race out and back along a dead-straight road on the Tyrrhenian coast.

Stage 2
After a flat opening phase, the route turns hilly in the final 75 kilometres, while the last kilometre rises at 8% to the line. A further twist is a gravel sector of 5.3 kilometres inside the final 8 kilometres. Stage 2 covers 206 kilometres and features 2,300 metres of climbing.

Stage 3
At 225 kilometres, this one is the longest stage of the week. With 1,850 metres of climbing spread evenly over the course, the fast men will be licking their lips.

Stage 4
Two major ascents in the first half and four smaller climbs in the second — that's stage 4 in a nutshell. The 210-kilometre route, with 2,500 metres of elevation gain, serves up an intriguing finale. A punchy climb of 1.7 kilometres at 9.2% precedes the downhill towards a flat 8-kilometre run-in to the finish.

Stage 5
The Tappa dei Muri is something of a Liège–Bastogne–Liège in miniature. No fewer than 3,900 metres of climbing are packed into the 186-kilometre route. The road goes relentlessly up-and-down all day before the summit of the final climb — 4.2 kilometres at 6.2% — comes just 2 kilometres from the line.

Stage 6
Two races for the price of one. The first half of the stage features an enormous climb, while the second half unfolds on a demanding hilly circuit. The riders rack up 3,900 metres of climbing over 189 kilometres. The finish climb rises for 3.2 kilometres at an average gradient of 8.9%.

Stage 7
The final test of Tirreno–Adriatico is a 143-kilometre race with only 1,100 metres of climbing — an absolute sprinter’s dream, as Jonathan Milan knows all too well. The Italian has won the past two editions of the traditional closing stage in San Benedetto del Tronto.

Weather forecast
It would not be the first time in history that the weather influences the course of Tirreno–Adriatico, but this year the riders seem set to get off lightly. According to the forecasts, they will only need to keep their rain jackets close at hand on Wednesday and Thursday. For the rest of the week, conditions are expected to be largely dry and reasonably sunny. Obviously, it helps that there are no high mountains in this year’s route.