As the first road stage of this year’s Tirreno-Adriatico, riders were eager to claim the first individual win after yesterday’s team time trial. A flat finale after a pan flat stage meant the fast men would have their eye on the victory, however a hectic street circuit finale saw a crash in the final 10km shake things up, losing UCI World Champion, Peter Sagan, much of his sprint train. With the support of Daniel Oss, Peter pushed hard to take second, with the rest of the team returning home safely ready to fight another day.
The Stage
Apart from a slight hump at the start of this 167km stage, the whole of the second day of the race would be pan flat. Heading south down the coast from the start town of Camaiore, where yesterday’s team time trial took place, the sparks would fly in the final 27km, where a street circuit ridden three times would up the pace for a predicted sprint finish. As is always the case though, fast finales make the racing more hazardous, and on street circuits there are always tight turns and road furniture that could change the day’s outcome in a matter of seconds.
The Team Tactics
On one of the flattest stages and a predicted sprint finish, all eyes would be on the UCI World Champion, Peter Sagan, but with a stage more suited to the pure sprinters, contesting the finale would be tough. The Slovak rider would be supported throughout the stage, and would be provided with a lead-out train for the closing kilometres. In the GC race, Rafał Majka would be looking to keep safe on the stage, ready to push for seconds in the later stages.
The Race
With a parcours that promoted fast riding, the break went away the moment the race left the stage’s neutralised zone. A small group of four built up a sizeable advantage over the peloton, who at their peak held the bunch at more than seven minutes with 90km remaining. Knowing the terrain wouldn’t trouble them in making the catch, the peloton increased their pace, and on reaching the street circuit in Follonica with 27km remaining, the break only had forty seconds in hand, finally being swallowed up with 12km to go. As the pace quickened the nervousness in the bunch was palpable, and a crash with 7km to go split the peloton, taking with it Peter’s lead-out train. Managing to stay in the lead group, Peter was supported by Daniel Oss as the final few kilometres sped by. Five men back in the last 100m, Peter pushed hard in what was a very messy sprint, taking second on the line – hitting his top speed just a little too late to take the win. While Marcus Burghardt, was caught up in the crash, the German National Champion came in safe, while Rafał Majka managed to finish with the lead group, protecting his GC hopes.
Results
01 M. Kittel 4:12:24
02 P. Sagan +0:00
03 G. Nizzolo +0:00
From the Finish Line
“I think my second place today was a good one since this was a stage that favoured the pure sprinters. The weather forecast was calling for rain but we actually had dry conditions, so that was a nice change. The team worked well but on the final lap there was clear tension in the peloton and a crash took place. Fortunately, I was in front but I think Marcus Burghardt was involved. I hope he or anyone else didn’t suffer anything serious. Tomorrow is another stage and we’ll again try our best.” – Peter Sagan
“I think the day played out the way we expected. It was the first road stage of the race and it’s difficult to know how it will finish as there are more unknowns than a time trial. All our guys performed very well, showed excellent teamwork and Peter took second place in the sprint behind Kittel. Fortunately, the crash in the circuit didn’t affect us. Rafał finished with the first group, so he didn’t lose any time to the GC contenders while Marcus Burghardt, who got caught in the pileup, didn’t suffer any injuries.” – Patxi Vila
