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Tirreno-Adriatico vs Paris-Nice: Which is better?
Tirreno-Adriatico and Paris-Nice are the first big stage races of the season, taking place concurrently just before the first Monument of the season as the first true Grand Tour warm-ups and hosting early showdowns between each year’s hottest GC contenders.
But which one is better? Which should riders be choosing to race?
We’ve looked back at their history to find out which has the better legacy and which has the better record of reflecting later season success to decide once and for all whether the Race of the Two Seas or the Race to the Sun is the ultimate early March stage race.
The history
Tirreno-Adriatico is the younger of the pair. Created in 1966 partly because no Italian had won Milan-San Remo for 12 years, the race was initially just three stages and called ‘Tre Giorni del Sud’ – three days of the south. The first edition was won by Italian Dino Zandegù, who’d go on to win the Tour of Flanders the following year, and it was the only time it hasn’t ended in San Benedetto del Tronto – although it did host a stage finish.
As of 2025, Classics legend Roger De Vlaeminck is the rider with most wins in the race with six, and the eight next most successful have just two, including Tadej Pogačar, Primož Roglič and Nairo Quintana.
Paris-Nice predates Tirreno-Adriatico by 33 years, starting in 1933, and like many bike races it was organised to promote newspapers. This time it was the brainchild of Albert Lejeune for Paris-based newspaper Le Petit Journal and the Nice-based Le Petit Niçois. Lejeune was executed in 1945 and it was almost lost in time with a four-year absence from 1947-1950, but Nice mayor Jean Medecin brought it back under the name Paris-Côte d’Azur with weekly newspaper Route et Piste taking over organisation. By 1954, the Paris-Nice title was restored.
The first edition was held over six stages, the first particularly lengthy at 312km. Three-time Liège-Bastogne-Liège winner Alfons Schepers took the victory that year, leading from the opening day.
Thanks to a dominant period in the 1980s, Irishman Sean Kelly has the most victories in Paris-Nice, notching up seven, and Jacques Anquetil sits in second with five.
The rivalries
The two Italians Francesco Moser and Giuseppe Saronni had an entertaining rivalry from the late 1970s and both participated in Tirreno-Adriatico in 1981. The pair attacked to reign in Bernard Hinault on Stage 2 before sprinting it out against one another for the victory. Their relationship wasn’t exactly smooth sailing, but both would win two editions – Saronni in 1978 and 1982 and Moser in 1980 and 1981.
As of late, it has most often been Visma-Lease a Bike and UAE Team Emirates doing battle at Tirreno. In 2023, Primož Roglič beat UAE’s João Almeida by 18 seconds, and in 2024 Visma came out on top once more with Jonas Vingegaard winning by 1min 24sec over Juan Ayuso. That run is set to come to an end in 2025 though.
As for Paris-Nice, it has played host to giants of the sport including Jacques Anquetil and Raymond Poulidor. In 1966 (the same year Tirreno-Adriatico began), Poulidor came out on top in the Stage 6b time-trial to thrust himself into the lead, defeating Anquetil by 36 seconds. While not his first time beating Anquetil in a Paris-Nice TT – having previously done so in 1962 – it was the first time to also account for a stage win. Despite that, through a barrage of attacks on the final day it was Anquetil who would win the 1966 race by 48 seconds.
The 1969 edition of Paris-Nice further rubbed salt in the wound, for when Poulidor did beat Anquetil in the standings, Eddy Merckx would trump them both. He got his revenge in 1972 though, beating Merckx for top spot by a margin of just six seconds and doing so again the next year, when Merckx sat in third by a larger 12 seconds, Joop Zoetemelk sandwiched between the pair.
The winners
So which has been most indicative of Giro d’Italia or Tour de France success? In the last 15 seasons, it’s Tirreno-Adriatico that comes out on top with four winners going on to win one of that year’s first two Grand Tours. Cadel Evans in 2011 and Tadej Pogačar in 2021 won both Tirreno and the Tour, while Vincenzo Nibali and Primož Roglič won Tirreno and the Giro in 2013 and 2023 respectively.
There are only two instances of this occurring with Paris-Nice winners in that timeframe, with Bradley Wiggins in 2012 and Egan Bernal in 2019 both taking home the two yellow jerseys.
In the 1960s and 70s particularly, Tirreno-Adriatico centred itself as ideal preparation for Milan–San Remo a week later. De Vlaeminck enjoyed a sweep of six consecutive victories at Tirreno from 1972 to 1977 and would also win Milan-San Remo in 1973. Giro d’Italia race director Mauro Vegni once said it was regarded as ‘the servant’ to La Primavera. However, taking the past 15 years into consideration, there has been no instances of Tirreno-Adriatico or Paris-Nice overall winners also reigning victorious at Milan-San Remo that season.
The trophies
There’s no doubting it, the golden Neptunian trident awarded to the winner of Tirreno-Adriatico is one of the best trophies in cycling. It comes from its ‘Race of the Two Seas’ nickname as it bridges the Tyrrhenian and the Adriatic seas, and the leader’s jersey is blue in keeping with that theme.
Paris-Nice, which, like the Tour de France, is organised by the ASO and awards its Tour-style own maillot jaune for the leader. Its trophy is a golden sun with a large star cut-out in the middle (see Matteo Jorgenson enjoying it below).
Current format
Tirreno-Adriatico was previously bookended by time-trials, but since 2020 it has either started or finished with a sprint stage. Editions of the seven-day race typically land around the 1,100km mark and since 2021 there has been one defined mountain stage every year, although 2024 packed in three.
From 1997 to 2016 (excluding 2011 and 2014) Paris-Nice always began with an individual time-trial. It then shifted to being a mid-week feature from 2017 until it became a team time-trial from 2023. Slightly longer than Tirreno-Adriatico, editions average around 1,200km over eight stages with the Col d’Èze a frequent feature on the final day.
Tirreno Adriatico or Paris-Nice?
Despite Tirreno-Adriatico’s trident trophy and a recent field that has more riders going on to win either the Giro or Tour, Paris-Nice can claim an edge over its competition thanks to its bigger history – the likes of Jacques Anquetil and Raymond Poulidor playing out their rivalry on the roads.
But of course, it can all come down to personal preference. Perhaps Anquetil and Poulidor can be eclipsed by the mere fact Tirreno-Adriatico recently played the Mario coin sound for riders crossing the finish line in their time-trial stage.
So, which do you prefer? Let us know.
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