page_title: 2011 Tirreno–Adriatico
section_title: Race previews and favorites
hierarchical_section_title: 2011 Tirreno–Adriatico / Race previews and favorites
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: Mark Cavendish pour sa victoire lors de la seconde étape du Tour de Romandie 2010.
context_page_description: The 2011 Tirreno–Adriatico was the 46th running of the Tirreno–Adriatico cycling stage race, often known as the Race of two seas. It started on 9 March in Marina di Carrara and ended on 15 March in San Benedetto del Tronto and consisted of seven stages, including a team time trial to begin the race and an individual time trial to conclude it. It was the third race of the 2011 UCI World Tour season.
  The race was won by BMC Racing Team rider Cadel Evans, who claimed the leader's blue jersey on stage five before a stage win on stage six. Evans' winning margin over runner-up Robert Gesink was 11 seconds, as Gesink overhauled both Ivan Basso of Liquigas–Cannondale and Lampre–ISD's Michele Scarponi on the final time trial stage. Scarponi – winner of the fourth stage – completed the podium, 15 seconds down on Evans.
  In the race's other classifications, Gesink's second place overall won him the white jersey for the highest placed rider aged 25 or under, and Scarponi took home the red jersey for amassing the highest number of points during stages at intermediate sprints and stage finishes.
context_section_description: Numerous notable riders were present in the race peloton, though their reasons for attending varied slightly. Top stage racers like Cadel Evans, Ivan Basso, Robert Gesink, Vincenzo Nibali, Joaquim Rodríguez, Andy Schleck, and Marco Pinotti were present. Evans' attendance was mainly for racing kilometers before attempting to win the Tour de France. Basso, who likewise planned to peak at the Tour de France, came to the race hoping for overall victory. He named Gesink as a potential rival, and Gesink for his part claimed Basso as a rider he fears. Schleck, Nibali, and Evans were named by one pre-race analysis as possible contenders, but not favorites, due to their plans to be at peak form later in the season.
  Other riders named as contenders included Philippe Gilbert, Damiano Cunego, Thomas Löfkvist, David Millar, Italian national champion Giovanni Visconti and Edvald Boasson Hagen. 2010's top two, Stefano Garzelli and Michele Scarponi, both returned, but as the race had no time trial in 2010 and had two in 2011, their chances were diminished due to their relatively weak time trial skills. Other notable riders present in the field included 2008 winner Fabian Cancellara, American time trial specialist David Zabriskie, Italian classics rider and former Tirreno–Adriatico podium finisher Alessandro Ballan, former Italian national champion Filippo Pozzato, 2010 Giro d'Italia runner-up David Arroyo, and Australian sprinter Robbie McEwen.
  Despite there being only two flat stages (the first two road race days), many top-tier sprinters started the race, as the Tirreno–Adriatico is traditionally considered to be excellent preparation for Milan–San Remo. Every Milan–San Remo winner since Andrei Tchmil in 1999 raced Tirreno–Adriatico (rather than Paris–Nice) beforehand. Tyler Farrar, Tom Boonen, Alessandro Petacchi, André Greipel, world champion Thor Hushovd, the aforementioned McEwen, and the last two Milan–San Remo winners Mark Cavendish and Óscar Freire all started the race.
  The stage 1 team time trial was the first in the Tirreno–Adriatico's 46-year history. The individual time trial returned in stage 7, after not being present in 2010. Along with the two flat stages and the two time trials were three hilly stages. While there were no exceptionally high passes visited in the race, each of the hilly stages was long and featured several small, steep ascents. Stages 4 and 5 were both 240 km (150 mi) in length, which is long for stages in a multi-day race. The five road races covered 1,049 km (652 mi) in total.
caption: Even though there were only two stages likely to end in mass finishes, sprinters the caliber of Mark Cavendish started Tirreno–Adriatico.
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