Ganna and Arensman deliver for INEOS in Tirreno, while Van Aert and Van der Poel keep their powder dry
CyclingMonday, 09 March 2026 at 17:58
The opening time trial of Tirreno-Adriatico has been won by Filippo Ganna. The INEOS Grenadiers rider fully lived up to his status as the overwhelming favourite, taking not only the stage victory but also the first leader’s jersey of the week once again. Team-mate Thymen Arensman produced an excellent ride to finish second, while Magnus Sheffield missed out on completing an all-INEOS podium by just four hundredths of a second.
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Paris-Nice had already got underway on Sunday, but it did not take long before attention shifted to Italy as well. Tirreno-Adriatico has now opened with a time trial in Lido di Camaiore for well over a decade, and the flat course once again looked tailor-made for the specialists. Ganna had already won here three times before and lined up as the man everyone expected to beat. That expectation was also reflected in IDL Procycling’s stage preview ahead of the opener.
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There was action immediately among the early starters. After Emiel Verstrynge, Wout van Aert rolled down the start ramp. The Belgian from Visma | Lease a Bike had won this opening time trial before, back in 2021, but this time it quickly became clear that history would not repeat itself. After the finish, Van Aert indicated that he was saving himself for Tuesday’s gravel stage. Verstrynge and Pello Bilbao both posted a faster time than the Belgian.
Alan Hatherly then smashed the benchmark. The South African from Jayco AlUla, who became mountain bike world champion in 2024, went a huge 37 seconds quicker than Bilbao. Jan Tratnik later conceded 22 seconds to Hatherly, underlining that a serious reference time had now been set. In fact, Hatherly’s 12:38 would have been good enough for second place in last year’s edition.
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Hatherly keeps UAE at bay, Walscheid frustrates Sheffield
With that 12:38 on the board, Hatherly enjoyed a long spell in the hot seat. There was some tension when several big names from UAE Emirates-XRG started in quick succession, but Isaac del Toro, Felix Großschartner and Jan Christen all came up short against the South African. Giulio Pellizzari, riding for Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe, also inserted himself nicely among the UAE riders on the standings.
The hot seat changed hands in the final hour. Magnus Sheffield looked set to give INEOS a real shot at the stage win, but shortly after the Brit came home, Max Walscheid edged under the fastest time by four hundredths of a second for Lidl-Trek. INEOS still had the final word in that phase, however, as Arensman stormed through and went another four seconds quicker to move into the lead.
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Can Ganna win in the Tirreno time trial again?
With Mathieu van der Poel also effectively taking a quieter day for Alpecin-Premier Tech, the final half-hour still featured several major contenders. Antonio Tiberi came to within 11 seconds of Arensman for Bahrain Victorious, while Matteo Jorgenson lost 22 seconds to the Dutchman. Primož Roglič, meanwhile, could not match Arensman either and finished nine seconds down. Roglič, Del Toro and Tiberi had all been highlighted among the headline names before the start, but none could challenge Ganna on this course.
Could Arensman really start dreaming of the stage win? Two major time trial specialists still had to finish. His INEOS team-mate Ganna was the outstanding favourite, while Soudal Quick-Step also had hopes pinned on Ethan Hayter. In the end, Ganna fully delivered on his billing by going a remarkable 22 seconds faster than Arensman.
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Averaging more than 56 kilometres per hour, the Italian national champion blew the rest of the field away, including Hayter. The Brit did everything he could, but he was already 10 seconds down at the intermediate check and eventually had to settle for eighth on the day. That meant INEOS won the time trial with Ganna, took second with Arensman and finished fourth with Sheffield. Walscheid split the INEOS trio in third, while Jonathan Milan rounded out the top five.
Results stage 1 Tirreno-Adriatico 2026
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
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Latest Comments
- It's a bit embarrassing that. Isn't the main sponsor supposed to keep them at 36.5 ?tomjacques03-03-2026
- They were close to cracking a very tired Tadej that wasn't fully focused on the TdF with a team of riders focused solely on cracking Tadej. And if they cracked him, he would have still won. Tadej won't be racing the giro this year. It'll be an even easier win for him.Veganpotter09-02-2026
- Nice!Bea22-01-2026
- Those events are mental rest for him. Fun, without expectations. *Sagan lost his abilities because he gained weight and got lazy. Pogi will likely retire before that has a chance at happening.Veganpotter14-12-2025
- Ah, the consequences of riding for Israel.Veganpotter11-12-2025
- Pidcock could follow everyone but Pogi while finishing 3rd. No second place rider this season😃Veganpotter16-11-2025
- Now the Palestinian protestors can stop their whining. Trump came to the rescue. So they can now STFU and go back to waving the rainbow flags.raufus15-10-2025
- Cracked the code lol. If it was that easy to 'crack the code' jonny Vegas would be charging up the Kwaremont giving Pog a dose of his medicine. Evenepoel can't match pog on a climb and neither can mvdp. Anything with a half difficult climb and Pog smashes the field. Even on flat(ish)parcours like Roubaix it came down to a mistake and crash by pog to definitively crown mvdp. MSR is the only one that Pog probably won't win.kevpt10-10-2025
- We've seen this movie before. I think Pogacar is doping.DeadBlow10-10-2025
- 👍Bea08-10-2025
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