Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech) sped to his third win of the season and second of the race on stage 4 of Tirreno-Adriatico, the Dutchman proving the quickest finisher from a select group of 14 at the end of a challenging hilly stage.
Wearing the ciclamino jersey of points leader following his stage 2 triumph, Van der Poel was the fastest to respond to a late surge from Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers), jumping off the Italian’s wheel to power well clear of his rivals and secure a clear victory by the beach in Martinsicuro.
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The result sees a shakeup at the top of the general classification, with Pellizzari taking the leader’s blue jersey thanks to the six bonus seconds he gained on the line. Having previously sat four seconds behind Del Toro, he now holds the race lead by two seconds with three stages to race. Red Bull teammate Primož Roglič lies in third overall at 21 seconds.
How in unfolded
Stage 4 of Tirreno-Adriatico brought a return to the hills with four classified climbs and 2,700 metres of elevation on the menu. Long climbs of Ovindoli (11.9km at 4.9%) and the Valico delle Capannelle (12.9km at 4.5%) in the Apennines marked the first half of the stage before a long descent towards the Adriatic Coast.
The final 50km of the 213km stage would bring two smaller hills in the form of Castellalto (7.6km at 4.5%) with 49km to go, and Tortoreto (1.5km at 8.4%) at 12.6km from the line, a flat finish in…
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