Mathieu van der Poel lines up for Stage 4 of Tirreno-Adriatico with one dub under his bibs, but Thursday’s route could give him another opportunity. (Greedy guy, ain’t he.)
The stage to Martinsicuro includes several climbs and nearly 2,500 m of elevation, making it well suited to aggressive riders like MvdP. Speaking to Het Nieuwsblad before the start, the Alpecin-Premier Tech rider hinted he doesn’t plan on riding defensively. (Although does he ever? The safest we’ve ever seen him ride was at the recent ‘cross worlds, where he was taking no chances. He didn’t even jump the barriers as he was gunning for the all-time record for elite men of eight rainbow jerseys.)
The peloton tackles early climbs over Ovindoli and Valico delle Capanne in the Apennines before the decisive finale. The key point comes late with the steep 1.5-km ascent of Tortoreto at 8.4 percent, followed by around 12 flat km to the finish.
Van der Poel said joining the early move is a real possibility and he wants to animate the race. If teammate Jasper Philipsen survives the climbs, the team could sprint with him. But with only a few stages left that suit him, Van der Poel made it clear: he plans to race aggressively and take his chance. So we could be in for another show.
Stage 2 was a gritty, slimy finish with a tough and slick uphill sprint., Van der Poel just edged out Isaac Del Toro and Giulio Pellizzari after a brutal 250-m effort on the steep streets into the finish. Although he took the win, the Dutch rider said he felt good–but not as good as he did at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, which is frightening, given how strong he was in Italy.
You can watch Stage 4 on Flobikes.com starting at 8:05 a.m. EDT. And if that’s not enough, Paris-Nice will be broadcast at 10:10 a.m. EDT. Stage 5 of the Race to the Sun begins in Cormoranche-sur-Saône. Thankfully, it looks sunny and a little warmer than yesterday’s race, so race leader Jonas Vingegaard may not need his bib tights.
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