photo credits @ Tirreno-Adriatico
Mathieu van der Poel claimed stage 2 of the Tirreno-Adriatico in San Gimignano today, after powering away along wet gravel roads with Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe) during the last few kilometers, later out-sprinting his rivals on the line in the medieval Tuscan town.
“It was very difficult,” Van der Poel said after the race. “The level was incredibly high on the last climb. The rain in the last half hour made it quite tricky, especially. But the team did a fantastic job.
“Julian Alaphilippe went first,” he explained. “I wanted to take the lead because I knew there were some tricky corners. Plus, I wanted to make the race as fast as possible.
The key move in today’s 206 kilometer stage came with just under 6 kilometers to go, as Van der Poel powered off the front, a move that was closely marked by Del Toro and Pellizzari.
Pellizzari was the first rider to animate things during the final kilometer, with Van der Poel and del toro quickly making his way back to the Italian rider.
From there, Van der Poel and Pellizzari went shoulder to shoulder to the line, but despite a final surge from behind by Del Toro, the Dutchman managed to cross the line first and take the win, while Pellizzari’s aggressions only earned him third place.
Meanwhile, a sizable chase group finished 15 seconds down after just failing to catch the trio, with Magnus Sheffield the best placed GC rider in that group, moving up to third overall.
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