The 50th edition of Tirreno-Adriatico will feature no less than five former champions, including last year's winner Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo). The Race of the Two Seas follows a familiar format as it passes through the increasingly rugged terrain of Tuscany, Umbria and the Marche, bookended by a team time trial on the Tyrrhenian coast in Camaiore and the traditional individual test in San Benedetto del Tronto.
Stages four and five will test the GC men and are likely to determine the overall winner. Vincenzo Nibali (Astana), Nairo Quintana (Movistar) and Contador will all be testing each other in a "spectacle" promised by race director Stefano Allocchio although Chris Froome (Team Sky) is a late withdrawal from the race due to illness
