Alessandro Petacchi (LPR Brakes) won the second stage of the Tirreno-Adriatico over 177km from Volterra to Marina di Carrara on Thursday. Petacchi edged out compatriot Daniele Bennati of Liquigas and Spaniard Koldo Fernandez in a sprint finish. Frenchman Julien El Fares of Cofidis, who won the first stage on Wednesday, held onto the leader's jersey with Bennati in second 15 seconds behind.
French rider Julien El Fares (Cofidis) held off the chasing peloton to win the first stage of Tirreno-Adriatico. Led by Liquigas and Columbia-Highroad, the chasing pack fell 11 seconds short of ending the Frenchman’s adventure in the 147km stage to Capannori on Wednesday. El Fares dropped his fellow escapee, Vladimir Duma (Flaminia), with about 20km to go but Duma chased back with 9km to go. They held a slender lead of 1:34 to hungry sprinters.
This year's Tirreno-Adriatico featured classic Italian scenery, a string of blistering sprint finishes, and a key 26km time trial on stage 5 that largely determined the overall win for CSC's world champion, Fabian Cancellara.
CSC's Fabian Cancellara held on to win the 43rd edition of the Tirreno-Adriatico following Tuesday's seventh and final stage. Italian Francesco Chicchi of Liquigas won the 176km run around San Benedetto del Tronto. But the 26-year-old Swiss, the current double world time-trial champion, kept hold of the leader's blue jersey and set himself up as one of the hot favorites for Saturday's Milan-San Remo.
Rabobank's Oscar Freire won a sprint finish to the sixth and penultimate stage of the Tirreno-Adriatico race in Italy on Monday. Freire took the 196km stage from Civitanova Marche and Castelfidaro ahead of two Italians — Filippo Pozzato and Danilo Di Luca. Fabian Cancellara of CSC retained the overall lead ahead of Tuesday's final stage.
Swiss rider Fabian Cancellara (Team CSC) took the overall lead at Tirreno-Adriatico after winning Sunday’s fifth stage, a 26km time trial from Macerata to Recanati. The two-time world time-trial champion finished in 33 minutes and 41 seconds, with American David Zabriskie (Slipstream-Chipotle) second at at 0:22 and Thomas L?okvist (Team High Road) third at 0:53.
Italian sprint king Alessandro Petacchi gained revenge on Oscar Freire by claiming the fourth stage of the Tirreno-Adriatico over 166km from Porto Recanati to Civitanova Marche on Saturday. Three days ago Petacchi was edged out by Freire in the race's opening stage. But this time the Team Milram rider turned the tables on the Spanish Rabobank leader with Italian Filippo Pozzato of Liquigas in third. Those three are the big favorites for the important Milan-San Remo classic on March 22.
Niklas Axelsson (PVC Diquigiovanni-Androni) slipped into the leader's jersey at Tirreno-Adriatico on Friday after finishing third in stage 3. Spaniard Joachim Rodriguez (Caisse d'Epargne) won the 195km leg from Gubbio to Montelupone with Italian Danilo Di Luca (Team LPR) second. An early escape by Jose Garcia Acosta (Caisse d'Epargne) and Lloyd Mondori (Ag2r) took a lead of more than eight minutes before being swept up in the final 20km.
Italian Raffaele Illiano (Diquigiovanni-Androni) won the second stage of Tirreno-Adriatico on Thursday, edging out countryman Enrico Gasparotto (Barloworld) in a sprint finish. Niklas Axelsson (Diquigiovanni-Androni) was third. The trio, with German Linus Gerdemann (Team High Road) and Saunier Duval teammates Riccardo Ricco and Eros Capecchi, went clear of the peloton on the last climb of the day, about 25km from the finale of the 203km leg from Civitavecchia to Gubbio.
Oscar Freire (Rabobank) proved fastest among an elite group of sprinters on Wednesday, winning the first stage of Tirreno-Adriatico. Freire won the 160km stage around Civitavecchia in 4:10:01, just nicking Alessandro Petacchi (Milram) and Jose Joaquin Rojas Gil (Caisse D'Epargne). The former world champion will wear the leader's blue jersey in Thursday's second stage, over 203km from from Civitavecchia to Gubbio.
Current and former world road champions Paolo Bettini, Tom Boonen, Igor Astarloa and Oscar Freire will be among those toeing the start line at the opening of Tirenno-Adriatico Wednesday. Aside from the rainbow stripes, these men share another trait in common: a desire to win the season’s first big one-day classic, Milan-San Remo. Other world-class sprinters slated to race T-A include CSC’s Stuart O'Grady, Milram teammates Alessandro Petacchi and Erik Zabel, and Silence-Lotto’s Robbie McEwen. The seven-day, 1122km race opens in Mar Tirreno and heads east to Mar Adriatico.
A banged up Magnus Bäckstedt (Slipstream-Chipotle) will return to competition in next month’s Tirreno-Adriatico stage race in Italy, a move that puts him on track to shine in the spring classics. Bäckstedt, 33, snapped his collarbone in a finish line crash during stage 5 at the Tour of Qatar last month. Following surgery, the 2004 Paris-Roubaix champion says his recovery is going better than expected.
The beleaguered Astana team – already excluded from the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France – received more bad news Tuesday after race organizers said the squad would not be invited at upcoming Italian races Tirreno-Adriatico and Milan-San Remo. That means Andreas Klöden, one of Astana’s top riders, won’t be able to defend his victory from last year at Tirreno-Adriatico. Both High Road and Slipstream-Chipotle earned bids to the important Italian races organized by RCS Sport, which also operates the Giro as well as other Italian events.
Andreas Klöden (Astana) retained his overall lead after the seventh and final stage to win the 42nd Tirreno-Adriatico cycling race on Tuesday. Koldo Fernandez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) won the 177km stage between Civitella del Tronto and San Benedetto del Tronto in four hours, 38 minutes and 43 seconds after a bunch sprint. It was the Spaniard's first win since he turned professional in 2004. Australian Stuart O'Grady (CSC) came in second and Italian Gabriele Balducci (Acqua e Sapone) was third. Italian sprint king Alessandro Petacchi (Milram) was knocked out of contention for the stage
Lampre’s Matteo Bono won the 162km sixth stage of the Tirreno-Adriatico cycling race between San Benedetto del Tronto and San Giacomo-Monti della Laga on Monday. German Andreas Klöden(Astana) grabbed the overall race lead after he finished the stage in ninth place. Bono, who has only two professional seasons under his belt and claimed the first win of his professional career, set the pace on the final 11km climb to San Giacomo-Monti della Laga. The 23-year-old Lampre rider kicked into action with four kilometers to the line and left the breakaway group, which had formed at 27km and included
German Stefan Schumacher (Gerolsteiner) won the fifth stage of Tirreno-Adriatico on Sunday to take a slender overall lead of the weeklong Italian stage race. Schumacher edged out compatriot Andreas Klöden (Astana) in an individual time trial over 20.5km from Civitanova to Civitanova Alta. Schumacher finished in 27 minutes and eight seconds, a second ahead of Kloden. He now leads the overall standings with Klöden in second place and Kazakh Alexander Vinokourov (Astana) third. Tirreno-AdriaticoStage 51. Stefan Schumacher (G) Gerolsteiner, 20.5km in 27:082. Andreas Klöden (G) Astana, at
Italian Riccardo Ricco (Saunier Duval) claimed his second consecutive victory in Tirreno-Adriatico by winning the fourth stage of the race, held over 158.3 km between Pievobigliana and here Saturday. Ricco also took over the race lead from Russian Alexander Areekev (Acqua e Sapone), who had claimed his own double on Thursday by winning the stage and claiming the lead. Italian star Ivan Basso, meanwhile, was forced to pull out of the event, known as the "Race of the two seas", during Saturday's stage. The Discovery Channel team leader had started despite injuring his left wrist in a
Italian Riccardo Ricco (Saunier Duval) won Friday’s third stage of Tirreno-Adriatico, a 213km leg between Marsciano and Macerata. Russian Alexander Areekev (Acqua e Sapone), winner of stage 2, retains the overall lead. Meanwhile, Italian Ivan Basso (Discovery Channel) crashed and injured his left wrist, according to Gazzetta dello Sport. He finished the stage, but subsequently was taken to hospital for X-rays. No fracture was found, according to press reports, but there was some question as to whether Basso would start Saturday's fourth stage. World and Olympic champion Paolo Bettini
Alexander Areekev (Acqua e Sapone) won the second stage of Tirreno-Adriatico on Thursday to take the overall lead of the weeklong stage race. The 24-year-old Russian took the 202km leg from Civitavecchia to Marciano ahead of Italy's Daniele Contrini (Tinkoff Credit Systems). German Sven Krauss (Gerolsteiner) was third. Areekev now leads Contrini by 32 seconds with Krauss third, a further three seconds back. Spanish rider Ivan Gutierrez (Caisse d’Epargne), who crashed during the bunch sprint, was taken to hospital with chest injuries. Gutierrez will be under observation for 48 hours;
Australian Robbie McEwen held off two of his biggest rivals to win the first stage of Tirreno-Adriatico Wednesday in Civitavecchia, Italy. Predictor-Lotto’s 34-year-old sprint specialist, winner of 11 stages in the Tour de France, pulled clear of Oscar Freire (Rabobank) and Thor Hushovd (Crédit Agricole) on the last curve with one of his trademark bursts of speed to win the 160km race in 4 hours, 38 minutes and 24 seconds. Freire, a former three-time world champion, crossed second with the Norwegian Hushovd third. McEwen said he called on his experience of two years ago to help him win the
Dutchman Thomas Dekker (Rabobank) won the 41st Tirreno-Adriatico on Tuesday, as Italian Alessandro Petacchi (Milram) sprinted to victory in the seventh and final stage. Petacchi won the 166km finale in San Benedetto del Tronto ahead of Australian Robbie McEwen (Davitamon-Lotto), Italian Paride Grillo (Ceramica Panaria-Navigare) and Norwegian Thor Hushvod (Crédit Agricole). "I didn't want to finish without a stage win," said Petacchi. "My teammates worked well in the final kilometers and carried me until the final 180 meters. I preferred to leave the sprint until as late as possible as
Italian Leonardo Bertagnolli (Cofidis) on Monday won Stage 6 of Tirreno-Adriatico. The Cofidis rider attacked 800 meters from the line to win the 179km run between San Benedetto del Tronto and Torricella. Alessandro Petacchi (Milram) took second with Riccardo Riccò (Saunier Duval) third. Dutch rider Thomas Dekker (Rabobank) retained the overall lead as Rabobank controlled the peloton during a day marked by a succession of attacks, crashes and abandonments. Tirreno-Adriatico concludes Tuesday with a 166km stage from Campli to San Benedetto del Tronto.
Swiss rider Fabian Cancellara (Team CSC) won the fifth stage of Tirreno-Adriatico on Sunday. Cancellara turned a time of 27 minutes and 37 seconds to win the 20km individual time trial at Servigliano ahead of Belgian Leif Hoste (Discovery Channel) and Dutch rider Thomas Dekker (Rabobank), whose third-place finish was good enough to displace Spain’s Oscar Freire (Rabobank) as overall leader. Meanwhile, the weather has forced organizers to modify Monday's sixth stage, which will now end in Torricella Sicura instead of the hilltop village of San Giacomo. The race concludes Tuesday. Top
Thor Hushovd (Crédit Agricole) sprinted to victory in stage 4 of Tirreno-Adriatico on Saturday. The Norwegian beat Italian Alessandro Petacchi (Milram) and Spain’s Oscar Freire (Rabobank) in the finale to the 219km stage from Paglieta to Civitanova Marche. Freire retained the overall race lead. Sunday's fifth stage is a 20km individual time trial around Servigliano.
Italy's Paolo Bettini (Quick Step) made it two in a row on Thursday, winning the second stage of Tirreno-Adriatico. The Olympic champion, who also won Wednesday's first stage, took Thursday's 171km race between Tivoli and Frascati ahead of Germany's Erik Zabel (Milram) and Ukraine's Mikhaylo Khalilov to consolidate his overall race lead. Top 101. Paolo Bettini (I), Quick Step-Innergetic, 4:03:192. Erik Zabel (G), Team Milram, same time3. Mikhaylo Khalilov (Ukr), Team LPR, s.t.4. Alessandro Ballan (I) Lampre-Fondital, s.t.5. Thor Hushovd (Nor), Credit Agricole, s.t.6.
Italy's Paolo Bettini (Quick Step) sprinted to victory in the first stage of the 41st Tirreno-Adriatico on Wednesday. Bettini, who won the 2004 edition of the race, outsped Germany's Erik Zabel (Milram) and Norway's Thor Hushovd (Crédit Agricole) to take the opener, a 167km stage around the Tivoli region. "Last year I suffered in this race because I'd had a lot of health problems. This year my form is much better, and I've shown it," Bettini said afterward. "I have to thank my teammates because they did a great job helping me on the climb to the finish. "Winning is
QuickStep’s Servais Knaven claimed the fifth stage of the week-long Tirreno-Adriatico stage race in style in Saltara, Italy, on Sunday. Spain's reigning world road race champion Oscar Freire of the Rabobank team retained the overall lead ahead of Tuesday's final stage, having won the three previous stages. The 34-year-old Knaven, the 2001 winner of Paris-Roubaix, claimed his first victory of the season after seeing his brave attack 25km into the 170km race, which started and ended in Saltara, come to fruition. The Dutchman was soon joined by four riders and together they went on
World road champion Oscar Freire (Rabobank) claimed his third victory in as many days on Saturday, winning the fourth stage of Tirreno-Adriatico in Servigliano, Italy. Germany's Danilo Hondo (Gerolsteiner) finished second in the 160km stage, with Italian Fabrizio Guidi (Phonak) in third. "I didn't go out to win this stage especially," said Freire. "I wasn't even that well positioned for the final sprint. I had to make a special effort to get back to the front." Italian sprinter Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo), winner of stage 1, found the going tough once more on Saturday.
World road champion Oscar Freire (Rabobank) claimed his second victory in as many days after winning the third stage of Tirreno-Adriatico Friday. The 29-year-old Spanish sprinter had to dig deep after he struck a protruding railing in the final kilometer and had to fight his way out of the bunch before winning the sprint at the finish line. Frenchman Laurent Brochard (Bouygues Telecom) had launched a brave sprint for the finish with 500 meters to go in the 228km race from Tivoli to Torricella Sicura, but the unstoppable Freire caught the 1997 world road race champion, who eventually
Reigning World Cup champion Paolo Bettini (Quick Step) won the fourth stage of Tirreno-Adriatico from Isernia to Paglietta Saturday. With the win, Bettini took the overall lead from Spain's former two-time world champion Oscar Freire (Rabobank). Rolf Aldag (T-Mobile) took a flyer after summiting the Valico di Rionero Sannitico about 60km into the 173km stage, but was retrieved after just 10km off the front. A few attacks followed shortly thereafter, but nothing stuck until Andrea Tafi (Alessio-Bianchi) launched a solo break, putting 2:55 on the bunch before Rabobank organized a chase to
Spaniard Oscar Freire (Rabobank) took the lead in the Tirreno-Adriatico cycling race after winning the 168km third stage between Maddaloni and Isernia on Friday. The 28-year-old Freire came in ahead of Ukrainian rider Vladimir Duma (Landbouwkrediet-Colnago) and Rabobank teammate Michael Boogerd of the Netherlands for his third stage win of the season. He overtakes Italian Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo), winner of the first two stages, as the overall leader. The battle started early with a series of attacks from Spaniard Angel Vicioso (Liberty Seguros), Estonian Janek Tombak (Cofidis)
Super sprinter Alessandro Petacchi (Fassa Bortolo) won the first stage of the 39th Tirreno-Adriatico as it finished in Sabaudia on the Mediterranean coast on Wednesday. The 30-year-old sprint specialist was the fastest in a bunch sprint, crossing the finish line of the 169km stage in 3:55:31. German pair Erik Zabel (T-Mobile) and Danilo Hondo (Gerolsteiner) were second and third respectively. Petacchi said his 60th career victory and his third of the season owed much to the performance of teammate Guido Trenti. "Trenti guided me very well and although I thought I went a little early in
Rabobank's Oscar Freire won Wednesday's final stage of the Tirreno-Adriatico to send a very strong message to world champion Mario Cipollini. Just days before the World Cup opener at Milan-San Remo, Freire got around Cipo and his formidable train to upset the world champion. “Guess I got lucky and Cipo made a mistake,” Freire said. Cipollini came in second, but won two bunch sprints during TA, Italy's first major stage race of the season. German Erik Zabel came across third, a good sign for the struggling Telekom veteran who's only won once this season on the eve of his major
Italian cyclist Massimiliano Mori of the Formaggi Pinzolo team was thrown out of the Tirreno-Adriatico cycling race on Monday for violating anti-doping regulations. Miro was caught trying to pass off a urine sample of the team doctor as his own when called for testing by the race's medical inspectors. Monday's fifth stage goes from Monte San Giusto to Rapagnano over a distance of 181 kilometers. Icy conditions forced the cancellation of Sunday's fourth stage. Illness will force Hincapie to skip the classicsAn ongoing viral infection has forced the U.S. Postal team’s George
Fassa Bortolo rider Filippo Pozzato won Friday's second stage of the Tirreno-Adriatico stage race, a 215km stage from Sabaudi to Tarquinia. Pozzato took over the lead from fellow Italian Mario Cipollini after the longest stage of the Italian stage race. The 21-year-old Pozzato, a rising star in his homeland, won a sprint finish to beat Italian Paolo Bettini and former world champion Romans Vainsteins of Latvia after negotiating the 484-meter Tolfa climb at the 160km mark. Pozzato waited patiently for his moment before attacking in the final 100 meters to edge out Bettini and
World champion Mario Cipollini, of the Domina Vacanze team, dominated a sprint finish to win the first stage of Tirreno-Adriatico as it finished in Sabaudia, Italy, Thursday. The 35-year-old Italian held off compatriot Dario Pieri to take the leader's jersey after the 178km ride around Sabaudia. After some mediocre riding in the early season Spanish races, Cipollini took full advantage of his team's close protection throughout the day before they led him on to a flat final straight. "I was feeling quite calm, I knew I had worked well recently and knew my fitness was up to scratch,"
Rabobank’s rider Erik Dekker won the 37th edition of Tirreno-Adriatico in San Benedetto Del Tronto Wednesday. Dekker triumphed overall after the 162km stage around San Benedetto on Italy's Adriatic coast which was won by Italian veteran Mario Cipollini. Cipollini, riding for the Acqua e Sapone team, pipped Germany's Erik Zabel and Lithuania's Saulius Ruskys in a sprint finish. Dekker had stamped his authority on the race by winning Sunday's time trial in Rieti, taking over the leader's red and yellow jersey from Italian Danilo Di Luca. Many had expected Di Luca to take it back but
Alessio’s Franco Pellizotti won Tuesday's sixth stage of Tirreno-Adriatico, a 208km run from Rapagnano to Montegranaro. Pellizotti held off compatriots Rinaldo Nocentini and Paolo Bettini in an all-Italian podium after a sprint finish but Holland's Erik Dekker retains the leader's red and yellow jersey. It was a red-letter day for the mop-topped 24-year-old from Bibbione in the northern region of Friuli near the Slovenian border who punched the air as he crossed the line for his first professional win in his second year. He had impressed greatly in last year's Tour of Spain when he
Saeco’s Danilo Di Luca, riding for the Saeco team, won Monday's fifth stageof Tirreno-Adriatico, a 150km ride from Rieti to Torricella Sicura.Di Luca, who posted a winning time of 3:39:51, finished ahead of second-placed Erik Zabel (Telekom) and Italian rider Giuliano Figueras who came third.Dutch rider Erik Dekker retains the leader's yellow and red jersey.Di Luca, who won Saturday's onerous mountain climb in his native Abruzzoregion, was among a group of eight riders who made the first significantmove on the Passo delle Campanelle climb.But the 27-year-old and his fellow escapees were soon
Italian drug squad officers swooped in the early hours of Sunday morning on the hotel rooms of several cyclists competing in the Tirreno-Adriatico cycling race, the ANSA news agency reported. In scenes mirroring last year's drug-tainted Giro d’Italia, police searched the rooms of cyclists Davide Rebellin, Fabio Sacchi, Gorazd Stangelj, Davide Casarotto, Stefano Casagranda and Endrio Leoni at 0500GMT. But all six riders were later cleared to start the 12.7km time trial around the central town of Rieti, stage four of the Tirreno-Adriatico. An inhaler was found in Rebellin's room but
Rabobank’s Erik Dekker won Sunday's fourth stage of the Tirreno-Adriatico cycling race to take the overall lead in the “Race of Two Seas.” Dekker won the individual time trial, pushing Moldova's Ruslan Ivanov and American Floyd Landis (U.S. Postal)into second and third place respectively and taking the overall lead from Italian rider Danilo Di Luca. Dekker had finished a close second to Di Luca in Saturday's mountain stage, considered the most onerous in the race that started Thursday on the Tyrrhenian coast near Naples and will finish next Wednesday at the usual place of San Benedetto del
Saeco’s Danilo Di Luca, riding for the Saeco team, took the overall lead of Tirreno-Adriatico by winning Saturday's 180km third stage from Anagni to Rocca Di Cambio. Di Luca rolled in 14 seconds clear of second-placed Dutchman Erik Dekker who clinched runners-up spot by outsprinting another Italian Franco Pellizotti, who finished third. It was a vintage solo effort from 26-year-old Di Luca who was racing on home territory in his native Abruzzo region in the center of Italy and confirmed his form ahead of next week's Milan-San Remo classic in which he will spearhead his new team's challenge.
Italian Paolo Bettini, who rides for the Mapei team, won the 213km second stage of Tirreno-Adriatico Friday. Deutsche Telekom’s Erik Zabel, who won Thursday's opening stage, retains the lead of the overall standings after he finished second. On a largely calm day of racing - due mainly to the flat outline of the stage - the peloton did not split until the latter stages when Bettini and teammate Oscar Freire, the world road race champion, launched an attack. The two riders were soon reeled in but Bettini anticipated the timing of the peloton's return perfectly to hold on to his slender lead
Deutsche Telekom's Erik Zabel won the first stage of Italy’s Tirreno-Adriatico cycling race over 124km between Massa Lubrense and Sorrento on Thursday. The German won a sprint finish which was littered with falls to come in ahead of Italy's Giovanni Lombardi and Jan Svorada of the Czech Republic. Polish rider Piotr Wadeckj suffered potentially serious head injuries after a heavy fall in the sprint and was transferred by helicopter to hospital where tests revealed early signs of hemorrhaging.
Latvia's Romans Vainsteins won the sixth stage of the Tirreno-Adriatico cycle race Monday, a 136km run from Torre San Patrizio to Monte San Pietrangeli. Vainsteins defeated Swiss rider Markus Zberg in a sprint finish but the conclusion was marred by the fall of overnight race leader Sergei Ivanov of Russia who had to be taken to hospital after tumbling 500m from the finish. Ivanov was being treated at Fermo Hospital where he was undergoing tests while Italian cyclist Lope Boselli was also treated for injuries sustained in the same incident. Ivanov was credited with finishing the stage in
Italian cyclist Davide Rebellin, of the Liquigas team, won Saturday's fourth stage of the Tirreno-Adriatico cycling race, a 170km run from Isernia to Celano. Rebellin also took the lead in the overall standings after outsprinting Dutch rider Michael Boogerd and Russia's Sergei Ivanov. The first three and Italian cyclist Gabriele Colombo, who won the Milan-San Remo Classic in 1996, made a vital break from the rest of the peloton with Rebellin holding off a spirited challenge from Boogerd of the Rabobank team to win. Earlier Ivan Basso and Danilo Di Luca had attempted a vain breakaway which
Rabobank’s Markus Zberg won a hotly contested sprint finish on Friday, while Russian Dmitri Konyshev (Fassa Bortolo) took over the race lead at Tirreno-Adriatico. Friday’s 156km third stage went from Benevento to Castelpetroso as the race continued its eastward journey across southern Italy toward the Adriatic coast. The day saw plenty of breakaway attempts, including Roberto Petito (Fassa Bortolo), Davide Rebellin (Liquigas) and Sergio Barbero (Lampre-Daikin), who were caught within sight of the 1km-to-go banner. That set up the furious finish, in which Zberg came off of Konyshev’s wheel
Italian sprinter Biagio Conte (Saeco) took the early lead in the Tirreno-Adriatico stage race on Wednesday when he won the 132km opening stage in Sorrento, Italy. Conte beat out Telekom’s Erik Zabel and Fassa Bortolo’s Dmitri Konyshev in the final sprint. Conte was given some freedom in the finish after Saeco team leader Mario Cipollini suffered a little bit on the Sant’Angelo climb during the race. "I am here to help Cipollini, and Thursday, I will return to my role as teammate," Conte said after his win. Thursday’s second stage will be a completely flat, 163km course between Sorrento and