The winning breakaway of Mads Würtz Schmidt

The winning breakaway of Mads Würtz Schmidt. Tadej Pogačar will ride the final individual time trial in the Maglia Azzurra

The second fastest mass start stage in the history of The Race of the Two Seas (45.645km/h) was concluded by a winning breakaway. Simone Velasco (Gazprom Rusvelo), Jan Bakelants (Intermarché Wanty Gobert), Mads Würtz Schmidt (Israel Start-Up Nation), Nelson Oliveira (Movistar), Brent Van Moer (Lotto Soudal) and Emils Liepins (Trek-Segafredo) managed to go clear after the first 30km were contested at 55km/h. With 100km to go, they reached a maximum advantage of 6 minutes. On the final laps around Lido di Fermo, the peloton realized they wouldn’t bridge the gap. Würtz Schmidt then outclassed Brent Van Moer (Lotto-Soudal) and Simone Velasco (Gazprom Rusvelo) in the 5-man group to take the victory after Liepins got dropped. Tadej Pogačar retained the Maglia Azzurra with an advantage of 1’15’’ over Wout van Aert.

Tomorrow, the individual time trial – the last stage of the Tirreno-Adriatico Eolo – will take place in San Benedetto del Tronto.

The first rider to start in the ITT will be Attilio Viviani (Cofidis, Solutions Crédits) at 13:00, the last will be the Maglia Azzurra Tadej Pogačar (UAE-Team Emirates) at 15:58.

STAGE RESULT

1 – Mads Würtz Schmidt (Israel Start-Up Nation), 169km in 3h42’09”, average speed 45.645kph

2 – Brent Van Moer (Lotto Soudal) s.t.

3 – Simone Velasco (Gazprom Rusvelo) s.t.

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION

1 – Tadej Pogačar (UAE-Team Emirates)

2 – Wout van Aert (Team Jumbo-Visma) at 1’15”

3 – Mikel Landa (Bahrain – Victorious) at 3’00”

The leaders and today's statistics

Maglia Azzurra (blue), General Classification Leader, sponsored by Sara Assicurazioni – Tadej Pogačar (UAE-Team Emirates)

Maglia Ciclamino (cyclamen), General Individual Classification by Points Leader, sponsored by Segafredo Zanetti – Wout van Aert (Team Jumbo-Visma)

Maglia Verde (green), King of the Mountains Classification Leader, sponsored by Enel – Tadej Pogačar (UAE-Team Emirates); to be worn by Mads Würtz Schmidt (Israel Start-Up Nation)

Maglia Bianca (white), Young Rider General Classification Leader, sponsored by Sportful – Tadej Pogačar (UAE-Team Emirates); to be worn by Egan Arley Bernal Gomez (Ineos Grenadiers)

STATISTICS

45.645km/h: excluding time trials, this is the second-fastest average speed for a stage of the Tirreno-Adriatico after Stage 6 to Cepagatti, won in 2016 by Greg Van Avermaet (45.946km/h). Both stages started from Castelraimondo.

Mads Würtz Schmidt has taken the 11th stage win for Danish riders at the Tirreno-Adriatico. The last one was won by Jakob Fuglsang in 2019.

Mads Würtz Schmidt is in his fifth year as a pro in the WorldTour. His previous win was Stage 4 of the Tour of Denmark in 2016. He was the world champion for the individual time trial as a junior in 2011 and in the u23 category in 2015. Therefore, Tadej Pogačar is the only stage winner of this year’s Tirreno-Adriatico who hasn’t worn a rainbow jersey so far.

Quotes and tomorrow's stage

The stage winner Mads Würtz Schmidt, said: “I knew it was possible to arrive in the breakaway when we started the last lap, at around 45 km, and we had a 4-minute advantage over the group. It’s always hard to arrive in a breakaway, but our group was working well together. I felt super strong and in the finale I felt confident that I could beat them in a sprint.”

The Maglia Azzurra Tadej Pogačar, said: “The breakaway was so strong that we couldn’t catch them and that made for fast racing. I kept focused all day, watching out for possible attacks. In the last climb I realized the peloton was not well enough organized for a sprint finish. For us, it was a quieter day. I’m glad this stage is over for me. I will time trial tomorrow according to my feelings on the bike. I hope to do a good time trial. Almost every stage race this year includes a time trial, so tomorrow will also be good training for the next races. It’s a different course than at the UAE Tour although it’s another flat one. There are a lot of top specialists, some speed bumps on the route as well. I will need to focus a little bit more on the road. All I want as a result tomorrow is to remain in the leader’s jersey.”

Wout van Aert in the Maglia Ciclamino said: “Yesterday was a really hard day. I felt tired this morning so we decided to let the bunch choose whether to chase the breakaway down or not. The front group happened to be really strong. At the end of the day, it was better for my team and myself to take it easy. I’ll give it one more go tomorrow. Filippo Ganna is the big favourite. He has won all the TTs he’s done over the last year. It will be hard to beat him, especially after a hard week of racing every day but I’m looking forward to racing against the clock.”

TOMORROW’S STAGE

Stage 7, San Benedetto del Tronto (ITT – 10.1km)

The 10.1km individual time trial is raced on the same route that has featured since 2015. The starting platform is located in viale Pasqualini from which the route proceeds towards Porto d’Ascoli along the sea. From Piazza Salvo d’Acquisto (intermediate timekeeping – km 4.4) it continues for about 750m before going back to San Benedetto del Tronto where the race ends on the traditional finish line in viale Buozzi.

Last km

The final 3 kilometers take place over wide and predominantly straight roads. The road goes towards the seafront before reaching the finish line. At 2.5km to go, riders will negotiate two turns before hitting the final straight, 2500m from the finish. The finishing straight is 8m wide and asphalt.

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