The escape dominated much of stage two of Tirreno Adriatico as the breakaway stayed in front for much of the race’s longest day. The competition was high in the peloton, with many riders eager to take the win, but in spite of the UCI World Champion, Peter Sagan, dropping off the front in the final 10km, the Slovak rider came out of nowhere to take a podium spot, coming in third after passing seven riders on his way to the line.
Day 2 of Tirreno Adriatico and the race hit the roads after yesterday’s team time trial. The stage took riders from Camaiore to Pomarance over a 228km course – the longest of this year’s edition of the race. After a flat start to the day, the parcours became more undulating in the latter half of the stage, taking in three categorised climbs before an uphill finish. The hilly finale gave plenty of opportunities for a late breakaway – almost perfectly suited to a punchy all-rounder or classics rider.
In spite of the difficulty of the second half of the stage, the day’s break didn’t let that deter them, escaping early on and quickly building up a good advantage over the peloton. The lack of big names in the break didn’t seem to bother the bunch too much, especially at this early stage of the race, and the break was left to their own devices much of the day. As the front men hit the climbs, the gap began to drop slowly, but it wasn’t until the final 60km that the peloton really started upping the pace, eager to take the win from the – now flagging – breakaway.
With the gap dropping steadily, it was all back together with 26km remaining. There was every chance of a late attack though, so the mood in the peloton was anxious as the finale drew closer. The roads narrowed in the final 10km making positioning difficult, especially with the fast pace – a touch of wheels could have caused huge problems for those angling for the win. At the 8km mark though, the UCI World Champion, Peter Sagan, slowed and dropped away from the front, leaving the rest of the peloton to fight it out amongst themselves. While a solo breakaway took the stage win, Peter showed he still had the fighting spirit to contest the podium from seven riders back, weaving his way through a throng of riders to take third.
After a strong finish that came at the end of a hard day in the saddle, Peter was feeling good about his result today. “It was a good day for me and I’m happy with the result. Congratulations to Geraint Thomas for his victory – he deserved it. I feel my form getting better and look forward to the next stages. I will give my best and try to take advantage of all the opportunities that will come.”
Like Peter, Team Coach, Patxi Vila, was happy with how the stage unfolded today. “Our plan today was to work for Peter and place him in a position for the stage win. I feel satisfied with the way it played out and the performance of the squad. The attack of Geraint Thomas probably came a bit earlier than expected, but in any case he showed he was strong, and it was difficult to bridge the gap. Overall, I’m confident about the team and the days to come.”
Tomorrow sees another hard and long stage, with 204km separating riders from the start in Monterotondo Maritimo and Montaldo di Castro. A gentle downhill start eases us into the day, before two categorised climbs in the middle third of the stage. After the climbs it’s pretty much downhill to the finish, where the sprinters will look to take the stage. An uphill kick in the final kilometre may catch out the true fast men though.
