Favorites stage 6 Tirreno-Adriatico 2026 | Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe face a dilemma, Del Toro braces for brutal test

Stage 6 of Tirreno-Adriatico starts in San Severino Marche, where the road begins to rise after just two kilometers toward Costa Severino. That climb is 2.4 kilometers long at an average gradient of 6.5 percent, and the heavier riders in the race will be hoping a breakaway can get clear there. If not, it could turn into a very long day for them.

After a short descent, the road trends uphill for quite some time from around the twenty-kilometer mark, all the way toward Sarnano. That town sits at the foot of the Sassotetto climb, a mountain we know well from Tirreno-Adriatico. In 2018, 2020 and 2023, the race also finished on this 13.1-kilometer ascent, which averages 7.3 percent.

From the summit, the riders head downhill toward Camerino. They reach the town for the first time after a sharp hill of 1.4 kilometers at 10.4 percent, before beginning a local circuit that must be completed three times. That brings the total elevation gain for the day to 3,900 meters.

The key point on that circuit is the final climb into town, which comes in at 3.0 kilometers at an average of 8.8 percent. But those numbers do not tell the whole story, because this is a highly irregular ascent. It starts with a kilometer at 13.1 percent, followed by a short plateau, before the road kicks up hard again.

The final kilometer rises at a savage 12.4 percent, with one section hitting 18 percent: a kind of Mur de Huy, only in Italy. Camerino last hosted a Tirreno-Adriatico finish in 2009, when Michele Scarponi won ahead of Stefano Garzelli, Ivan Basso and Danilo Di Luca.

Times
Start: 10:40 AM local time
Finish: approx. 3:40 PM local time

There is a fairly good chance the riders will stay dry on Saturday. Forecasts point to light to moderate wind, temperatures around 12°C and cloudy conditions in Italy, although it will naturally be colder on top of the Sassotetto at 1,450 meters altitude.

The climbing hierarchy became much clearer in Friday’s fifth stage, and those same balance-of-power questions carry into the final mountain finish. Isaac del Toro of UAE Emirates-XRG took back the blue leader’s jersey, and knowing the young Mexican, he may well want to put an extra shine on what looks like a looming overall victory by adding another stage win.

Matteo Jorgenson of Visma | Lease a Bike was the only rider able to hold Del Toro’s wheel in stage 5, but the American never really looked as though he was about to ride Del Toro off it. The same was true of Giulio Pellizzari and Primož Roglič, which leaves Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe with an interesting internal discussion. Roglič rode in service of then-race leader Pellizzari on Friday, but now that the Italian has lost the blue jersey, the team may have to reconsider its hierarchy for the queen stage.

Other riders who looked strong were Tobias Halland Johannessen of Uno-X Mobility and Giulio Ciccone of Lidl-Trek. They may get some room to maneuver if Del Toro’s primary focus becomes defending his overall lead rather than chasing the stage win at all costs. Alessandro Pinarello of NSN, Ben Healy of EF Education-EasyPost and Michael Storer of Tudor will also be hoping for that kind of scenario.

From the breakaway, names such as Richard Carapaz of EF Education-EasyPost, INEOS duo Thymen Arensman and Magnus Sheffield, and Alan Hatherly of Jayco AlUla could still try something, as none of them represents a direct threat to Del Toro in the general classification. Michael Valgren may be fully satisfied after his stage win on Friday, but fellow breakaway rider Julian Alaphilippe almost certainly will not be. Clément Braz Afonso of Groupama-FDJ is another rider worth noting.

Top favorite: Isaac del Toro (UAE Emirates-XRG)
Outsiders: Matteo Jorgenson (Visma | Lease a Bike), Tobias Halland Johannessen (Uno-X Mobility), Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek), Giulio Pellizzari and Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe)
Long shots: Alessandro Pinarello (NSN), Ben Healy, Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost), Michael Storer (Tudor), Thymen Arensman, Magnus Sheffield (INEOS Grenadiers), Alan Hatherly (Jayco AlUla), Julian Alaphilippe (Tudor) and Clément Braz Afonso (Groupama-FDJ)