Mathieu van der Poel added another impressive win to his 2026 campaign by taking stage two of Tirreno-Adriatico in San Gimignano. though the Alpecin-Premier Tech rider thinks he has felt better a week ago.
The stage ended with a selective finale through the historic Tuscan hill town. It was one of the best finishes in recent years too. A short gravel sector inside the final seven km fractured the peloton and then it was game on.
A close finale
In the uphill sprint that followed, Van der Poel barely edged out Isaac Del Toro and Giulio Pellizzari after a powerful 250-m effort on the steep streets of the medieval city. At some points on the slippery–and crazy steep cobbles, they couldn’t stand, so it was a drag race done seated.
Van der Poel knew that positioning was super-key in the finale.
“The most important thing was to be in the right place before the gravel section,” he said to Wielerflits. “Everyone knew it could split the race. My teammates did a great job helping me stay near the front, and once you’re there it’s much easier to avoid problems.”
As we all know, the eight-time world ‘cross champion excels on punchy sections like Stage 2, so he was clearly stoked with inclusion of gravel in the finale. Not everyone loved it, though. Some riders questioned the safety of the sector, particularly because tight corners followed it. But van der Poel said it added excitement.
“It was great for people watching the race and I enjoyed it as well,” he said. “It made for a very tough final and San Gimignano is a beautiful place to finish.”
Slick corners after heavy rain
Rain in the closing hour made the final kilometres even trickier. Wet gravel and slippery bends increased the risk, something Van der Poel admitted caught him slightly off guard.
“The rain made the finale harder. The gravel became very slippery, especially in the corners. I didn’t expect it to be quite that slick,” he said.
Although he did briefly lose momentum after a small slip that caused his chain to come off, the former world champ managed to regroup before launching his sprint.
And despite the dub confirming his strong early-season form, Van der Poel said he actually felt better at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. Which makes sense–it almost looked like he might not take the win. It was close.
“My legs were better there,” he admitted. “But when you win a stage like this you can’t complain. I’m mainly here to build towards my big spring goals, and I…
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