Favorites stage 2 Tirreno-Adriatico 2024 | Merlier and Philipsen gear up for Belgian showdown

The second stage of the Tirreno-Adriatico takes the peloton from Camaiore towards Follonica, mirroring the second stage of last year. The upcoming edition's stage is thus a kind of blueprint of that route, although the course to be covered in 2024 is ten kilometers shorter. We start in Camaiore, where the road immediately begins to ascend.

The first 2.6 kilometers steadily rise at a 4.8 percent gradient, but this is unlikely to have much influence on the formation of the day's breakaway or the race narrative. The same goes for the Castellina Marittima climb (11.7 km at 3.0%) halfway through the race. After 181 kilometers, we reach Follonica for the first time, followed by a local loop of eighteen kilometers towards the finish line.

In this circuit, the nervousness will increase before the peloton's focus shifts to the sprint. The last five hundred meters are marked by a gentle left turn, and the final two hundred meters run straight ahead. Last season, Fabio Jakobsen, then riding for Soudal Quick-Step, timed his sprint perfectly after an early move by Fernando Gaviria.

Climbs
97.0 km: Castellina Marittima (11.7 km at 3.0%)

Times
Start: 11 AM
Finish: 3:43 PM

The wind is coming from the sea, but it doesn't seem strong enough to cause any disruption. With temperatures hovering around 15 degrees Celsius, the weather will stay dry throughout the day in Italy.

Leading up to the start of the first sprinters' stage of this Tirreno-Adriatico, the main focus is on the duel between the two major Belgian sprinters of the moment, Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step) and Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck). The former, representing Patrick Lefevere's team, has already achieved three successful outings in the highly regarded UAE Tour and seems eager to continue this trend in Europe.

However, he will have to get past former teammate Jasper Philipsen, who had a somewhat less impressive Opening Weekend riding for Alpecin-Deceuninck. The Belgian will have to do without Mathieu van der Poel, who last year helped him out in Follonica. As the winner of the green jersey, Philipsen will certainly be motivated to showcase his best at the finish line.

There are certainly plenty of outsiders too: Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) has recovered from the illness that kept him from racing in Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne, while Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain Victorious), Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty), Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan Team) and Caleb Ewan (Jayco AlUla) have in the past all demonstrated that they possess the speed for impressive results in the Tirreno-Adriatico. They all have their lead-out trains with them.

Aside from the aforementioned riders, the participation of Casper van Uden (DSM-Firmenich PostNL) is interesting. At Uno-X, they can again choose between Soren Waerenskjold and Alexander Kristoff, while riders like Stanislaw Aniolkowski (Cofidis), Amaury Capiot (Arkéa - B&B Hotels), Marius Mayrhofer (Tudor), Niccolo Bonifazio (Corratec-Vini Fantini), Enrico Zanuncello (VF Group-Bardiani) and Ethan Vernon (Israel-Premier Tech) will be hoping for a good position for the sprint. In this way, they might snatch a nice honorary finish. Filippo Ganna could also be in the mix, but whether he will intervene is uncertain. Similar to Vernon and Milan, he could certainly make a bid for Juan Ayuso's leader's jersey.

Top favorites: Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step) and Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck)
Outsiders: Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek), Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain Victorious), Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty) and Caleb Ewan (Jayco AlUla)
Long shots: Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan Team), Soren Waerenskjold (Uno-X), Matteo Trentin (Tudor) Casper van Uden (dsm-firmenich PostNL), Stanislaw Aniolkowski (Cofidis), Amaury Capiot (Arkéa - B&B Hotels), Niccolo Bonifazio (Corratec-Vini Fantini) and Ethan Vernon (Israel-Premier Tech)