Tirreno-Adriatico stage 2 LIVE – Gravel climb to UNESCO World Heritage Site finish location on the menu for the riders

130km to go

The gap is hovering around three minutes with it dipping below and going above all the time.

65km to the intermediate sprint.

Alpecin-Premier Tech return to the front of the peloton to work with Ineos Grenadiers. Mathieu van der Poel will be looking for a stage win today.

140km to go

Average speed just over 42kph with Ineos Grenadiers pulling the bunch. The gap did drop below three minutes but the bunch has let it go back above that mark again.

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150km to go

Things are changing in the peloton as the gap to the break drops to three minutes.

The leaning tower of Pisa has it’s famous lean due to poor foundations being built on soft sandy soil. The building began in 1173 but, as construction got to the third floor, it began to lean just five years into the build. They tried to compensate by building floors slightly taller one one side to the other. Eventually, major stabilisation work was done as recent as the 1990s to save this famous quirky historic gem.

The time gap to the four man break drops to three minutes 40 seconds as they lose about 50 seconds in 10km.

160km to go

Into the final 100 miles of racing on stage 2 of Tirreno-Adriatico 2026.

The riders have a very long period of flat roads now and the pace hasn’t really picked up, either. That said, the gap to the breakaway dips back under four minutes.

170km to go

The gap to the break goes beyond four minutes.

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It is an overcast but bright day in Tuscany with the temperatures at a very pleasant 17 degrees C.

The riders pass the city of Pisa and it’s famous leaning tower.

180km to go

The breakaway now have almost four minutes on the peloton after 40 minutes of racing.

“It’s a really ‘interesting’ stage. We’ll have to be ready for the finish and hit the gravel from the front.”

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The peloton is being led by the team of the riders in 1st, 2nd and 4th, Ineos Grenadiers. They have some help, though, from Alpecin-Premier Tech and Visma-Lease a Bike.

The gap has expanded to three minutes and 20 seconds.

All four of the expected breakaway teams are in the break today. Their gap is almost at three minutes on the pack.

The break of four have a gap of 2’54” on the peloton after 8km of racing.

No updates on whether the attackers have got away or not.

Attack!

Manuele Tarozzi (Bardiani CSF-7 Saber)Joan Bou (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA)Diego Pablo Sevilla (Polti-Visit Malta)Alessandro Iacchi (Solution Tech-Nippo-Rali)

British time trial champion, Ethan Hayter (Soudal-QuickStep) woke up this morning with 25 UCI points and 500 CHF less than he had yesterday due to a fine that he received for showing his middle finger towards a passing motorbike in yestderday’s race…

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206km to go

Racing begins in Camaiore as the riders begin one of many 200+ kilometre days in Italy.

One non-starter:

Lennert Van Eetvelt (Lotto-Intermarche)

The Belgian climber is suffering too much after his crash at Strade Bianche on Saturday.

Neutral start

The riders begin the relatively short neutralised section.

Sign on has been completed by the riders as they ready for the start of the second stage and the first road stage of this year’s race.

The finish location of San Gimignano is famed for it’s 14 amazing towers from the original 72 that stood before. The towers were owned by each family that lived in the town, each family trying to out-do the other with height and decorations. It is also known for it’s amazing frescos from the 14th and 15th centuries.

The towers give you amazing views across Tuscany with Siena and Florence in the distance as well as the beautiful rolling hills of the region. San Gimignana is also famed for it’s wine, Vernaccia, too.

The jerseys:

Blue, GC – Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers)Purple, Points – Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers)*Green, KOM – No points given yetWhite, Youth – Magnus Sheffield (Ineos Grenadiers)

*Worn by – Thymen Arensman (Ineos Grenadiers)

It is a slow and steady start in terms of difficulty today for the riders with a largely flat beginning before the final third of the stage sees the hills begin and the action points of the first intermediate sprint and KOM sprint of the race.

After that, it is full focus on the final climb to the finish in the multi-towered and beautiful UNESCO World Heritage Site of San Gimignana. However, they have the small matter of a very fresh and loose gravel climb to do just before they get there. Drama incoming? Perhaps!

Buongiorno and welcome to Cyclingnews’ live report of stage 2 at Tirreno-Adriatico 2026.