Cyclingflash
Mathieu van der Poel beats Del Toro after gravel finale in Tirreno-Adriatico, Arensman crashes

Mathieu van der Poel beats Del Toro after gravel finale in Tirreno-Adriatico, Arensman crashes

He had to go all out, but Mathieu van der Poel claimed victory in the second stage of Tirreno-Adriatico. In a three-man sprint, he narrowly edged out Isaac Del Toro and Giulio Pellizzari. Del Toro took over the leader’s jersey from Filippo Ganna. Thymen Arensman crashed on a gravel section near the finish and lost significant time.

Day one of Tirreno-Adriatico featured the time trial specialists, while in stage two the puncheurs had free rein. The final 75 kilometers were a constant up and down. The ultimate finale began about eight kilometers from the finish. The peloton then faced a 1.4-kilometer gravel climb, followed by a tough final ascent (1.2 km at 7.1%) over the narrow cobbled streets of the medieval town of San Gimignano.

During the long, flat approach to the hilly section, a breakaway of four riders formed. Manuele Tarozzi, Joan Bou, Alessandro Iacchi, and Diego Pablo Sevilla escaped. The quartet animated the early part of the race but was reeled in with forty kilometers to go. INEOS Grenadiers then took control of the peloton.

Full throttle towards the gravel
No new break went clear after that. The peloton was simply moving too fast as it charged towards the gravel finale. Various teams fought for the best positions, trying to set up their leaders as well as possible. Amid the chaos, Bardiani rider Martin Marcellusi crashed, but the favorites stayed upright.

Julian Alaphilippe started at the very front of the sloping gravel section and pushed hard, with Van der Poel on his wheel. Del Toro and Jorgenson were also well positioned near the front, unlike Van Aert, who got boxed in slightly during the sprint to the foot. That was not ideal, as there was no slowing down. After Alaphilippe dropped off the front, Giulio Pellizzari took over the pace. Then Van der Poel assumed control.

Van der Poel opens a gap, Arensman crashes
The leader of Alpecin-Premier Tech put the pressure on the rest, but Jorgenson seemed to follow smoothly—until the American slipped in a right-hand corner. Sensing his chance, MVDP accelerated away. He established a nice gap, but Del Toro and Pellizzari were not ready to give up yet. The two still had the Dutchman in sight with five kilometers remaining.

A kilometer later, Del Toro and Pellizzari caught Van der Poel. Del Toro took over without hesitation. In a tricky corner, Van der Poel nearly crashed but clipped out in time and stayed upright. After a quick sprint, he was able to rejoin Del Toro, together with Pellizzari. Thymen Arensman, who was not far behind, then crashed in that same corner. He was set to lose a lot of time.

While Arensman fell behind, Del Toro, Van der Poel, and Pellizzari entered the final kilometer together. Thanks in part to chase work from Wout van Aert, their lead over the small peloton remained limited, but they held on. We got a three-man sprint for the win.

Van der Poel wins narrowly
Pellizzari launched the sprint first and seemed to catch Van der Poel off guard. The Dutchman managed to close the gap and pass him, but the battle was far from over. Especially since Del Toro came charging from behind. Yet Van der Poel held off his rivals and took the stage victory. Del Toro assumed the leader’s jersey from Filippo Ganna.