Young gun Rojas for Tirreno

By Antonio J. Salmerón

The young and promising sprinter, José Joaquín Rojas, will return to the Corsa dei Due Mari ('race of the two seas'), Tirreno-Adriatico, March 12 to 18. The 22 year-old Spaniard of Team Caisse d'Epargne won the race's mountain classification in 2006 while riding for team Liberty Seguros.

Yesterday, Rojas finished fifth in the Clasica de Almeria. "I could do better in the end, but the most important thing for me is that I have been pleasantly surprised to see myself disputing a race among the best ones again after having been injured in Mallorca."

He announced his upcoming schedule after the Spanish one-day race. "I will race the Tirreno-Adriatico because I still have some troubles. This means that I am still not one hundred per cent, and that it should wait a few days more, so the Vuelta a Murcia begins very early [Tuesday], and Paris-Nice is too hard for me given the circumstances that have changed my preparation and scheduling.," he confirmed to Cyclingnews.

In Tirreno "there are long stages and its rapid speeds will allow to catch the peak of form that I need to confront the great classic races in March and in April", explained Rojas on Monday.

The 43rd Tirreno-Adriatico, which is organised by RCS Sport, will consist of seven stages and 1123 kilometres. The Italian race is an alternative to simultaneously run Paris-Nice, which many are considering a harder races than recent years.