Tirreno-Adriatico: Primož Roglič secures trident trophy as Jasper Philipsen sprints for final victory

Published March 12, 2023 07:00AM

Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Decuninck) roared to sprint victory Sunday in the final stage of Tirreno-Adriatico for his second win of the week.

Philipsen profited from a huge leadout by Mathieu van der Poel to beat Dylan Groenewegen (Jayco AlUla) and Alberto Dainese (DSM) in San Benedetto del Tronto.

Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) finished safe in the bunch to seal GC victory and mark a blazing comeback from his off-season shoulder surgery.

Roglič finished with three stage victories and an 18-second advantage over second-best João Almeida (UAE Emirates). Tao Geoghegan Hart (Ineos Grenadiers) finished third overall.

This year’s edition was the first time Roglič started the “Race of the Two Seas” since he won in 2019 and only a late addition to his program after he saw a strong return to training this winter.

Emphatic victory in the seven-stage race will see the 33-year-old ride through Catalunya and toward the Giro d’Italia looking like top maglia rosa rival for Remco Evenepoel.

“It’s just nice to come back to racing this way. I really enjoyed the whole week and my teammates were super strong. One week ago I was just expecting to suffer – it’s even better to win when it’s unexpected,” Roglič said at the finish. “It feels good ahead of the Giro d’Italia too.”

A strong eight rider move went away at the very start of the hilly opener of Tirreno’s final stage into San Benedetto del Tronto.

The group stayed away but was never given too much room to move. The final 80km of the stage was pan-flat, offering sprinters one final chance this week for WorldTour victory.

Soudal Quick-Step, Alpecin-Deceuninck, and Jayco AlUla all took turns controlling the peloton but left it late to reel in the escape.

The catch was only made at three kilometers to go as the sprint teams mobbed across the road.

Van der Poel lit up the sprint for Philipsen in the final kilometer as Fabio Jakobsen (Soudal Quick-Step) lost his leadout.

Philipsen opened up his gallop and Groenewegen tried to counter, but the Alpecin-Deceuninck speedster held strong for victory.

“We had a lot of motivation from the previous sprint stage, so we knew we’d be able to do it again,” Philipsen said at the finish. “The team and especially Mathieu did a fantastic job.”

Classics star Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grendiers) made for a high-profile DNF on Sunday. The recently crowned Strade Bianche champion crashed in the stage – his second fall of the week – and climbed into the team car.

S6: Primož Roglič completes hat trick with third sprint victory in a row

Primož Roglič sprinted Saturday for his third-straight victory at Tirreno-Adriatico.

The returning Slovenian ace surged out of an elite lead group to top Tao Geoghegan Hart (Ineos Grenadiers) and João Almeida UAE Emirates) on the podium after a relentless day of classics-style racing.

Roglič’s third win in three days puts the Jumbo-Visma star in control of the classification ahead of the final sprint stage Sunday.

“It was tricky with a lot of guys attacking, but I managed to take it at the end, so I’m super happy,” Roglič said at the finish. “But we know from experience it’s not finished until Sunday, so, one more.”

Jumbo-Visma’s two toppers Roglič and Van Aert looked to take control of the race some 40km from the finish of a long and endlessly lumpy ride into Osimo.

The race strung out but came back together before GC threat Aleksandr Vlasov (Bora-Hansgrohe) joined Guillaume Martin (Cofidis), and Movistar pair Alex Aranburu and Carlos Verona in an attack ahead of the final 20km of racing.

UAE Emirates and Jumbo-Visma led the chase as Vlasov galloped to an advantage that would put him in the GC lead. Meanwhile, Bora’s other classification contender Lennard Kämna hid in the wheels and took a free ride toward the final.

The lead four gained some 30 seconds of a gap, but Ineos Grenadiers and UAE Emirates worked to neutralize the threat ahead of the steep penultimate climb 5km out from the line.

Mikel Landa (Bahrain-Victorious) forced the selection and drew out an elite group of GC racers.

The leaders plummeted down the town center descent before the course kicked up again for the ramp up to Osimo.

Michael Woods (Israel Premier Tech) made a move 1800m from the line and got a good gap but the group of seven roared back to the Canadian with just one kilometer to go.

Roglič surged at 500m to go, but was countered. The bunch came together before Roglič went again in sight of the line – and this time, it stuck.

Tirreno-Adriatico concludes Sunday with a stage likely to see a sprint in San Benedetto del Tronto.

S5: Primož Roglič doubles up in headwind bunch sprint, takes race lead

Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) took his second straight win at Tirreno-Adriatico in a bunch sprint of climbers on stage 5 to Sarnano-Sassotetto.

The group of favorites took turns to attack each other up the final climb, but they stayed resolutely together to face off for a sprint to the line. Roglič played his cards perfectly and outkicked Giulio Ciccone (Trek-Segafredo) and Tao Geoghegan Hart (Ineos Grenadiers) to the line.

With the bonus seconds earned on the line, Roglič moves into the overall race lead with a four-second advantage on overnight leader Lennard Kamna (Bora-Hansgrohe).

Stage 5 of Tirreno-Adriatico was shortened by some 2.5 kilometers due to high winds near the top of the final climb. The gusty weather was evident throughout the stage and made it slow going for the peloton at times.

Movistar set a blistering pace for much of the final 20 kilometers to set up Mas for a run on the final climb, and tire out his rivals. Meanwhile, some riders struggled in the blustery conditions with Cofidis rider Rémy Rochas nearly being blown off his bike.

Fortunately for the group, there was no repeat of the scenes we saw at Strade Bianche last year and Rochas and the rest of the bunch stayed upright.

George Bennett took over the pace-setting for UAE Team Emirates as the remnants of the peloton hit the final climb, which had been shortened due to the windy conditions. Caruso took his opportunity to light up the day with an attack at just over four kilometers to go.

At 45 seconds behind the race lead, the Italian was given some space before the group of favorites began to respond with a series of attacks. With two kilometers to go, Caruso had a tenuous 20-second lead, an advantage that had all but disappeared to just a few meters by the flamme rouge.

The group fractured and reformed under the pressure of the attacks, but there would be about 20 riders remaining as the line loomed into sight. In the end, it came to a chaotic bunch sprint amongst the climbers with Roglič outgunning Ciccone and Geoghegan Hart to the line.

S4: Pidcock, Van Aert crash as Primož Roglič soars to victory

Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) roared to victory at Tirreno-Adriatico in Thursday’s fourth stage ahead of an elite group of GC contenders at the hilltop finale at Tortoreto that split the bunch.

Tom Pidcock and Wout van Aert crashed late in the stage after bumping shoulders in the argy-bargy in the final rush to the line. Both went down heavily but were able to carry on without apparent serious injuries.

The pair shook hands and remounted the bike as the race roared up the road, but the crash forced Jumbo-Visma to change its plans.

Jumbo-Visma was initially riding for Van Aert, but with the spill, the team quickly pivoted to Roglič who showed no signs of the injuries that marred his 2022 season.

“Our plan was to go for a result today. I was not the first plan. Normally, yes, we’d go with Wout, but he was unlucky,” Roglič said. “I just had luck a bit more on the left side and avoided the crash. We could change the plan and I could go for it in the end.”

The win is the first for Roglič since the Vuelta a España, and he looked sharp to muscle ahead of Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal Quick-Step), with Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates) crossing the line third.

“It’s always nice to win. It’s fantastic to see how I recovered,” he said. “We worked hard and a lot of sacrifices. It’s nice to be back and enjoying it.”

Lennard Kamna (Bora-Hansgrohe) slipped into the leader’s jersey after overnight leader Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) slipped off the back with about 2km to go.

“I under-estimated the stage and I didn’t realize the final climb was so hard. After going over it I knew there was a chance to take the jersey,” he said. “We tried to be in front and tried to be aggressive. In the end, it was full-gas fighting. We will try to defend, but it will be hard tomorrow.”

A mishmash of GC favorites and a few sprinters who held on roared to the final kicker with hopes for the win. Damien Howson (Q36.5) nudged clear with under 1km to go, but the favorites swarmed to the line.

Hugh Carthy (EF Education-EasyPost) jumped with 800m to go, drawing out the favorites.

An early break was duly reeled in to coming to the three-lap hilltop finale at Tortoreto. Jumbo-Visma led the pack with 10km to go.

Tirreno-Adriatico continues Friday with the 168km Morro d’Oro to Sarnano-Sassotetto with the “queen stage” sure to crown the eventual winner. The final HC climb features an average grade of 7 percent at 13km.

S3: Jasper Philipsen delivers stinging sprint win

Alpecin-Deceunick gave the Belgian a perfect leadout, with Mathieu van der Poel delivering him to the final 200m. Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain Victorious) kicked to second, with Biniam Girmay (Intermarche-Circus-Wanty) crossing the line third.

“It’s always nice to win, especially after a big team effort like this,” Philipsen said. “Our teammate warned us of crosswinds in the final 10-11km. Jumbo-Visma were really strong, and I was quite far behind. I got on Ganna’s wheel and he managed to bridge to the first group. It all came together.”

Overnight leader Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) was initially gapped but fought back to the front in time to carry the leader’s jersey into Thursday’s uphill kicker.

The bunch split in the closing 10km, with Jumbo-Visma driving a wedge inside the peloton. A few key sprinters missed out, and were forced to double-down on the chase. It came back together at just under 4km to go to set up the mass gallop.

The victory was the first for Alpecin Deceuninck in 2023 in its first full season in the WorldTour.

“The start of the season didn’t go like we all hoped as a team. Of course, it’s still early. We knew that we had to stay calm and do like we did in the previous years and the wins would come,” he said. “Mathieu did such a good leadout and I didn’t have to make such a strong sprint because his leadout was so nice.”

The “Race of the Two Seas” continues Thursday with the 218km fourth stage from Greccio to Tortoreto. A short uphill kicker to the hilltop town could produce some splits among the GC favorites.

S2: Fabio Jakobsen barrels to victory in sprint showdown

Fabio Jakobsen (Soudal Quick-Step) won a tense battle of the nerves Tuesday to win stage 2 at Tirreno-Adriatico.
Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin Deceuninck) took him to the line, but the Dutchman stabbed his bike across the line for the win.

“You never know now, and there are a lot of photo finishes. It is quite close I think,” Jakobsen said. “I had a strong team and everyone did a good job. I was in good position on the small climb with 10km to go. They put me on the wheel of Philipsen, and I had the speed in the legs.”

Fernando Gaviria (Movistar) jumped early but ran out of gas in the closing meters and trailed across third.

All eyes were on Mark Cavendish, but he was caught in traffic and he did not punch into the top-10.

Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty) punctured late and fought back to finish fourth in what was the first major sprint battle among some of the peloton’s biggest names at Tirreno-Adriatico.

There was a real dogfight in the closing 20km between the teams over narrow roads at the end of the 210km stage from Camaiore to Follonica.

The pack was spread gutter-to-gutter across the road, making it difficult to move up. There was a pileup with about 5km to go as the peloton compressed ahead of some looming traffic furniture.

Soudal-Quick-Step and Alpecin Deceuninck took control at the front in the closing kilometers to set up the mass gallop. Intermarché-Circus-Wanty also muscled to the front with less than 3km to go.

Overnight leader Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) finished safely in the pack to defend the GC, with teammate Magnus Sheffield in third at 31 seconds back. Brandon McNulty (UAE Emirates) moved up one spot to fourth at 34 seconds back.

The race continues Wednesday with an undulating stage with two climbs midway in the 216km run from Follonica to Foligno.

S1: Filippo Ganna dominates opening time trial, takes GC lead

Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) lived up to his palmarès with a crushing victory in the time trial opener of Tirreno-Adriatico.

The Italian powerhouse and national TT champion rampaged to a time 28 seconds faster than his nearest rival in a race otherwise decided by fine margins.

Ganna topped Lennard Kämna (Bora-Hansgrohe) and U.S. talent Magnus Sheffield (Ineos Grenadiers) on the podium after the 11.5km test to score the first leader’s jersey of the race.

“I just thought to ride as fast as possible,” Ganna said at the finish. “Two days ago I didn’t know what my performance would be, but I believed to do as much as possible for me and the Italian people.”

GC contenders João Almeida, Brandon McNulty (both UAE Emirates), Primož Roglič and Wilco Kelderman (both Jumbo-Visma) all saw strong starts to their race with top-12 finishes.

Horror weather greeted riders for the flat-out out n’back in Lido di Camaiore. Heavy rain and hail pummeled riders and roads through the first half of the stage before calmer conditions saw drier tarmac and stiller air for later starters.

Sheffield brought a standout performance when he started in the middle of the day. The U.S. powerhouse blitzed to the fastest time of the stage in a 53kph ride that at the time was 26 seconds faster than the rest.

Grand tour stars Roglič and Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe) couldn’t come close, and the 20-year-old star had already gone better than the earlier time of Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma).

It wasn’t until Kämna came to the finish around 30 minutes after Sheffield that the young New Yorker was booted from the hot seat.

However, all eyes were on Ganna, who won the same stage last year, to deliver with his late start. The Italian didn’t disappoint with his Ferrari output engine, stopping the clock with a winning time of 12.28 – 55.35kph.

Lumpy stages with flat finales could see Ganna retain his GC lead through to the first hilltop finish on stage 4, Thursday.