Riders preparing for the Tour de France now have another choice when picking which races they use to prepare for the big event with the Adriatica Ionica Race being introduced this season and taking place between June 20-24.
The five-day race has been given 2.1 status by the UCI and includes some of the peloton’s best riders, including Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data) and Elia Viviani (Quick-Step Floors). Matteo Trentin will add to the home interest as he makes his comeback to racing by donning the Italian national jersey. Trentin has been out of action since fracturing his spine in a crash at Paris-Roubaix in April. He will be joined by Moreno Moser in the Azzurri jersey of Italy.
Trek-Segafredo bring a well-rounded team with Giacomo Nizzolo for the sprints and Gianluca Brambilla, Jarlinson Pantano and Peter Stetina for the mountains. Others to look out for are Ben Swift (UAE Team Emirates), Damiano Cunego (Nippo Vini Fantini) and Mihkel Raim (Israel Cycling Academy).
The race will open up with a 23km team time trial from Musile di Piave to Lido di Jesolo. The following four stages will be a mixture of lumpy sprint stages and mountain rides, with stage 3 taking the peloton up to a summit finish on the Passo di Giau.
