“Let the dust rise”. Once again. Just a few days after Strade Bianche, Stage 2 of the Tirreno Adriatico 2026 in San Gimignano served up another taste of gravel drama. Nothing comparable to Saturday’s great classic, of course, but a single 5.3 km sector placed close to the finish was enough to produce a thrilling and brutal finale.
In the end it was Mathieu van der Poel who took the victory in San Gimignano, and the Dutch off-road specialist certainly knows his way around the gravel. Still, it was far from an easy day for him, as he had to dig deep to beat Isaac Del Toro and Giulio Pellizzari in the sprint after the trio had gone clear on the gravel sector. The Mexican rider also becomes the new race leader, as Filippo Ganna struggled with the explosive finale and finished 1’04” behind the leading trio.
The race was animated early by Manuele Tarozzi (Bardiani CSF 7 Saber), Joan Bou (Caja Rural–Seguros RGA), Alessandro Iacchi (Solution Tech Nippo Rali) and Diego Pablo Sevilla (Polti VisitMalta), with the latter taking the KOM at Castelnuovo Val di Cecina, the first mountain prize of this edition of the race.
The peloton, however, kept everything firmly under control and reeled in the break with 25 kilometres to go, just as the first drops of rain began to fall. The already tricky finale quickly became even more dangerous, and tension rose sharply ahead of the gravel sector.
As soon as the riders hit the white roads, now damp and slippery, Julian Alaphilippe launched the first attack, but it was when Mathieu van der Poel raised the pace that the race truly exploded. Glued to the Dutchman’s wheel were Isaac Del Toro, Giulio Pellizzari and Matteo Jorgenson of Visma | Lease a Bike, but the American rider slipped and crashed just as he was following Van der Poel. That forced Del Toro and Pellizzari to chase back across to the cyclocross world champion, while behind Filippo Ganna was dropped and the cyclamen jersey of Thymen Arensman hit the ground in another crash.
When they emerged from the gravel sector, three riders remained out front: Van der Poel, Pellizzari and Del Toro. The Mexican rider had the overall classification in mind and refused to take turns, staying on the front throughout the final uphill drag into the centre of San Gimignano. On the cobbled run-in Pellizzari tried to anticipate the sprint, but Van der Poel was not caught out and, right on the limit, managed to throw his wheel ahead on the line, with Del Toro coming very close to a comeback despite pulling for the final two kilometres.
All the other favourites finished together in a group at 17 seconds, except Ilan Van Wilder (Soudal–QuickStep) who lost 35 seconds, Jan Christen (UAE Team Emirates XRG), Jai Hindley (Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe) and Michael Storer (Tudor) who conceded 57 seconds, and Thymen Arensman (Ineos Grenadiers), who crashed and finished 1’38” down.
Results and GC after San Gimignano
FINAL RESULTS
1 – Mathieu Van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech) – 206 km in 4h53’23” average speed 42.129 km/h
2 – Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates XRG) s.t.
3 – Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull – Bora – Hansgrohe) s.t.
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
1 – Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates XRG)
2 – Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull – Bora – Hansgrohe) at 3″
3 – Magnus Sheffield (Ineos Grenadiers) at 13″
THE JERSEYS
The leader jerseys of the 61st Tirreno Adriatico Crédit Agricole are designed by SPORTFUL
- Maglia Azzurra, leader of the General Classification, sponsored by Socage – Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates XRG)
- Maglia Ciclamino, leader of the Points Classification, in cooperation with ITA – Italian Trade Agency – Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers)
- Maglia Verde, leader of the Gran Premio della Montagna Classification, sponsored by Trenitalia – Mathieu Van Der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech)
- Maglia Bianca, Best Young Rider Classification, born after 1 January 2001, sponsored by Crédit Agricole – Isaac Del Toro (UAE Team Emirates XRG)
Speaking seconds after the finish, the stage winner Mathieu Van der Poel said: “It was very difficult to beat these young guys. The level was very high, especially in the long climb, especially with the rain in the last half hour. It was quite tricky but the team did a really good job. Julian Alaphilippe attacked first, then I went because I knew there were some technical corners. I just tried to make the race as hard as possible. The sprint for the win was difficult because the road was slippery. I just saved enough energy to win. I came to Tirreno-Adriatico to prepare for Milano-Sanremo and the other classic races but also to try and win a stage. Last year I was close a few times. I’m happy to take a stage win again here five years after my last one”.
