photo credits @ Tirreno-Adriatico
After a long and wet day of racing, Andrea Vendrame (Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale) sprinted to victory in stage 3 of the Tirreno-Adriatico today, finishing just ahead of Tom Pidcock (Q36.5).
The Italian emerged the victor at the front of a reduced peloton, with the efforts of stage favorite Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) stymied by a crash with 23km to go.
The long, shallow climb to the finish at Colfiorito was animated by repeated efforts by GC favorites that included race leader Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) and Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates). However, despite a solo attempt by Ganna during the final three kilometers, the bunch regrouped for the sprint.
“The day was difficult and long, with bad conditions,” said Vendrame afterward. “My teammates looked after me well. I’m in good condition at the moment and it was really nice to be able to take a victory.
“I thought I had a chance today,” he added. “Maybe not 100%. But my director said to me on the radio, “You can win this sprint today’. So I started to believe in myself.”
Earlier, the stage from Follonica to Colfiorito boiled down to some late attacks along lengthy climb to the finish, with race leader Ganna coming under threat from various rivals. The Italian rider then opted for a risky late attack once the race had passed the summit, but his aggressions were quickly closed down by Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck).
Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) then made a last-ditch attempt to seize the win, only for Vendrame to power past him within sight of the finish.
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