Once Strade Bianche on Saturday has been and gone, the men’s WorldTour season rolls on with Paris-Nice and Tirreno-Adriatico getting underway, on Sunday and Monday respectively.
The provisional start lists for both week long stage races are littered with an array of cycling’s biggest stars and should be quite the spectacle. Remco Evenepoel will continue his preparations for his Tour de France debut at Paris-Nice where he will face off against Primož Roglič.
Meanwhile, Jonas Vingegaard will be looking to carry on his hugely successful start to his new campaign at Tirreno-Adriatico. The defending two-time Tour champion opted to ride Paris-Nice last year where he finished third, but is going to Italy this time. He will return to Tirreno for the first time since 2022 in which he finished second to Tadej Pogačar.
Away from the general classification action, both races should see plenty of aggressive racing from stars including Ben Healy, Tom Pidcock and Mads Pedersen. The sprinters will also get their moment in the limelight on the flatter stages too.
Here are seven things to look out for once the racing gets started.
Primož Roglič’s Bora-Hansgrohe debut
All eyes will be on Primož Roglič this weekend as he gets set to make his Bora-Hansgrohe debut after making the move from Visma-Lease a Bike at the end of last season.
Roglič has forged a solid reputation as being one of the very best stage racers. As well as winning the Giro d’Italia last year, the Slovenian won every week-long race he entered, winning 10 of the last 13 he has entered, in fact.
It will be intriguing to see how he approaches Paris-Nice with his new teammates. Will he look to take the race on and ignite it or simply get his legs going, and ominously tick over in the background? You would be best placed putting your money on the former.
There is plenty of firepower in the provisional Bora squad for next week. Backed up by the likes of Aleksandr Vlasov and Bob Jungels, Roglič won’t be short of support as he locks horns with Remco Evenepoel and looks to land his first trophy in his new team's colours.
Tao Geoghegan Hart continuing comeback
Geoghegan Hart made his long awaited return to action after injury at the recent Volta ao Algarve, which was also his debut for Lidl-Trek.
The Londoner fractured his femur in a crash at last year’s Giro which left him side-lined for months prior to his off season transfer to his new team. There were no expectations on his shoulders when he returned to action in Portugal, but he finished seventh on the race's two key mountain stages.
It was an impressive return given his long layoff and one which he will have been more than happy with. Geoghegan Hart is set to lead the line for his new team at the Tour de France this summer, alongside Mads Pedersen, so Tirreno is another step on the way there.
After a long absence from competition, it’s difficult to predict how comeback races will pan out for a rider but based on his performance in the Algarve, it’s like he was never away at all.
Explosive racing from Jonas Vingegaard
While everyone was tuned in to Opening Weekend, Jonas Vingegaard was busy getting his season underway at the relatively new Spanish stage race, O Gran Camino. With the four stages out of the way, the consensus is that Vingegaard looks very, very good indeed.
The defending Tour de France champion completely obliterated all competition to win the general classification, and three stages along the way. It was the second year in a row that he’d pulled this off.
What was particularly notable was his willingness to take the race on, and ignite the action earlier on in stages than we are perhaps used to seeing. There were early attacks to test rivals legs, pushing away from the main field before sitting up and coming back into the fold. That’s the type of behaviour that you would expect from his rival, Tadej Pogačar, more so than the Dane.
If Vingegaard looks to continue that attacking style at Tirreno-Adriatico next week, then we could be in for a gripping week of racing from the word go.
Josh Tarling looking to hit out for Ineos Grenadiers
Josh Tarling is gradually becoming one of the most talked about riders in the sport, despite being just 19-years-old, down to his top time trialling.
Hailing from Aberaeron in west Wales, the Ineos Grenadiers rider is already one of the best time trialists currently riding in the WorldTour and will only get better. Last summer, Tarling took the bronze medal at the World Championships behind Remco Evenepoel and Ineos teammate Filippo Ganna. He then went on to win the European time trial title just a few months later. His unbeaten streak in ITTs currently stands at four, with Chrono des Nations, one at the Renewi Tour, and the opening stage of O Gran Camiño thrown in.
Paris-Nice lacks an individual time trial this year, but stage three is a team time trial in Auxerre, which he could well help his team out in, despite its hilly profile. Tarling is also looking to claim a road race at some point this season, and where better than in a long range attack on a stage of Paris-Nice?
In other British interests, Tom Pidcock will be one to watch on the punchier days at Tirreno.
Remco Evenepoel's next move
Evenepoel has started the new season with a bang after coming out of a block of racing in Portugal with GC victory to his name at the Volta ao Algarve as well as a win at the Figueira Champions Classic.
In the Algarve, he demonstrated that he was in fine time trial form, landing a first victory in the rainbow bands as time trial world champion.
However, Paris-Nice will provide a much sterner test than what Evenepoel faced in Portugal, especially with Primož Roglič present.
Roglič got the better of Evenepoel at the Volta a Catalunya early on last year but, after such a strong start, Evenepoel will be keen to continue the momentum as he builds towards July and a Tour de France.
Will Mads Pedersen continue his sparkling early season form?
So far in 2024, Mads Pedersen’s form book reads two stage races, two overall victories, and four stage wins. The former World Champion completely steamrolled any form of competition at both the Tour de la Provence and Etoile de Bessèges to get his season going with a bang.
Alongside Mattias Skjelmose, Pedersen will be one of Lidl-Trek’s leaders at Paris-Nice and, judging by his current form, will be a solid bet for a stage win somewhere along the way. He has won stages at Paris-Nice before, including stage two last year, and knows what it takes to outfox the sprinters or win from a breakaway on hillier terrain.
With the Classics hotting up in the weeks ahead, it will be interesting to see if Pedersen’s hot streak continues in the coming days.
Ben Healy on the attack
Ben Healy will line up in Italy once again after lighting it up at the Giro d’Italia last year.
The EF Education-EasyPost rider was regularly on the attack at the Italian Grand Tour and was rewarded with a stage win for his efforts on stage eight. He very nearly landed a second too, and some of the terrain at Tirreno looks perfect for him.
Healy is explosive, punchy and aggressive and always looking to get up the road in pursuit of breakaway opportunities.
EF are also expected to take Richard Carapaz to Italy in search of GC opportunities. When not working for the Ecuadorian, Healy will hopefully be let off the leash as he should flourish on some of the hillier stages at Tirreno.
