Stage 2 winner Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-Quick Step) created something of a surprise by taking a second victory at the end of a bunch sprint after losing contact with his team-mate Elia Viviani, who he was going to lead out. The Italian national champion crossed the line in third place with Davide Cimolai (Israel Cycling Academy) coming second. The 2019 Tirreno-Adriatico NamedSport GC will come down to a duel against the clock between race leader Adam Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) and current second-place man Primoz Roglic (Team Jumbo-Visma) who remain separated by 25 seconds ahead of the closing Individual Time Trial in San Benedetto del Tronto.
The first rider to start tomorrow will be Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain – Merida) at 13:25. The last rider, the Maglia Azzurra Adam Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) will start at 16:03. Tomorrow’s ITT starting order can be downloaded here.
STAGE RESULT
1 – Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck – Quick-Step) 195km in 4h42’11”, average speed 41.462kph
2 – Davide Cimolai (Israel Cycling Academy) s.t.
3 – Elia Viviani (Deceuninck – Quick-Step) s.t.
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
1 – Adam Yates (Mitchelton – Scott)
2 – Primoz Roglic (Team Jumbo – Visma) at 25″
3 – Jakob Fuglsang (Astana Pro Team) at 35″
JERSEYS
PRESS CONFERENCE
The stage winner, Julian Alaphilippe, said: “It was a surprise for me to raise my hands up in the air. I was working for Elia [Viviani] and at the end I was on the wheel of Max Richeze who did a hard last pull. I saw the 200m to go mark. From there, I gave it all till the finishing line. I’m glad I won but it’s truly a very big team victory with a lot of work all day. We controlled, we brought the breakaway back and we capped it off. I’ll do the time trial tomorrow the best I can but the big goal for me and the team now is Milan-Sanremo. We have a very strong team. It won’t be easy to win. I’m in great shape. It’s fantastic to be on form for my goals. Elia is also able to win if there’s a bunch sprint finish. We have several cards to play but only one objective: to win the first Monument of the year.”
The Maglia Azzurra, Adam Yates, said: “Sprint stages are always tricky. Many teams were nervous today because there was a lot of wind. But the guys looked after me, I got here in one piece and there’s just the time trial left. I keep saying I’ll do the best I can and if it’s good enough, it’s good enough.”
STATISTICS
TOMORROW’S STAGE
Stage 7 – San Benedetto del Tronto (Individual Time Trial) 10km
Discover more on stage 7 of Tirreno Adriatico NamedSport 2019
CURIOSITIES
San Benedetto del Tronto
San Benedetto del Tronto is a city in the Marches, the fifth largest in the region by population after Ancona, Pesaro, Fano and Ascoli Piceno, and includes 23 municipalities.
Also known as Riviera delle Palme, the name as been extended also to also refer to neighboring localities of the coast and inland, making it one of the main tourist resorts of the Marche. Since 1999 the city has been continuously awarded the Blue Flag with star, the recognition that the FEE (Foundation for Environmental Education) awards to the European coastal resorts for quality of bathing water and services offered.
Since the second edition of the Tirreno-Adriatico, in 1967, San Benedetto del Tronto has been the permanent home of the final stage of what is generally considered the second stage cycling race in Italy, after the Giro d’Italia. The Corsa Rosa itself has also visited San Benedetto, in 1953 and 1964.
TV COVERAGE
Stage 7 of the Tirreno-Adriatico NamedSport International TV Schedule available here.
