The greatest riders make certain races their signature event.

Sean Kelly, seven times a winner of the ‘Race to the Sun’, is the obvious candidate for prince, should Nice adopt the constitutional arrangements of its neighbour, Monaco.

Tom Boonen has made the Roubaix velodrome his second home, and Eddy Merckx…well, take your pick. His seven victories at Milan-San Remo provide the most seasonally-appropriate reference.

Vincenzo Nibali added a second Tirreno-Adriatico title to his palmares today, and while his rivals did their utmost to deprive him of a repeat of this 2012 victory, the Sicilian displayed an unshakeable will to win, allied to a superb descending technique, and retained his title.

Stefano Sirotti was our man with the lens in San Benedetto del Tronto at the conclusion of a vintage edition of the Race of the Two Seas.

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Vincenzo Nibali celebrates a second consecutive victory at Tirreno-Adriatico having won last year’s race 

Nibali said he had worked to improve his time trialing to compete with specialists in the discipline

The Sicilian is still not Chris Froome’s equal in the ‘race of truth’, but the Sky leader’s superior effort in the time trial was not sufficient to deprive Nibali of overall victory

Alberto Contador finished third overall but was left with much to consider after losing out to Froome in the mountains and Nibali in the time trials

Tony Martin led Omega Pharma-QuickStep to a team time trial triumph a week ago, and claimed individual victory today