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Van der Poel, the Answer

12/03/2021

The Dutch champion takes revenge as the Belgian extends his GC lead ahead of the queen stage

After Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) on Stage 1 and Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-Quick Step) on Stage 2, Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) took his win in Gualdo Tadino. The Dutch national champion outsprinted his rival after Alaphilippe left a gap behind his teammate Zdenek Stybar in the last kilometre of the race and forced Van Aert to close it. However, by finishing second, the Belgian ace extended his overall lead to 20 seconds. Ahead of the queen stage to Prati di Tivo, he has an advantage of 20” over Mikel Landa, Tadej Pogacar, João Almeida and Vincenzo Nibali, and 38” over Egan Bernal.

 

 

STAGE RESULT

1 – Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix), 219km in 5h24’18”, average speed 40.518kph

2 – Wout van Aert (Team Jumbo-Visma) s.t.

3 – Davide Ballerini (Deceuninck – Quick Step) s.t.

 

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION

1 – Wout van Aert (Team Jumbo-Visma)

2 – Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) at 4”

3 – Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck – Quick Step) at 10”

The leaders and today's statistics

Maglia Azzurra (blue), General Classification Leader, sponsored by Sara Assicurazioni – Wout van Aert (Team Jumbo-Visma)

Maglia Ciclamino (cyclamen), General Individual Classification by Points Leader, sponsored by Segafredo Zanetti – Wout van Aert (Team Jumbo-Visma); to be worn by Davide Ballerini (Deceuninck – Quick Step)

Maglia Verde (green), King of the Mountains Classification Leader, sponsored by Enel – Vincenzo Albanese (Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team)

Maglia Bianca (white), Young Rider General Classification Leader, sponsored by Sportful – Tadej Pogačar (UAE-Team Emirates)

STATISTICS

 

This is the second stage win for Mathieu van der Poel at the Tirreno-Adriatico after he took Stage 7 to Loreto last year.

Before Van der Poel, the last Dutch stage winner was Wout Poels on Stage 4 in 2015. It’s the 23rd stage win for Dutch riders. Only Italians (155) and Belgians (44) have more.

For the first time since 2013 (Mark Cavendish), the same rider (Wout van Aert) leads the overall ranking in the first three stages of the Tirreno-Adriatico.

Quotes: Wout van Aert and Mathieu van Der Poel

The stage winner Mathieu van der Poel said: “My celebration on the finish line is something that came from a MotoGP rider, I can’t remember who exactly [Fabio Quartararo]. We found it on Instagram and I promised my teammates that I would try to replicate it. Yesterday I was, for sure, a bit angry with myself. I made a mistake in the finale. Today, I really wanted to win. My team did an amazing job bringing the first group back. The gap left by Julian Alaphilippe wasn’t something I expected. Wout van Aert reacted immediately. It was perfect for me. It could have been a weird situation but it turned out well. Milano-Sanremo will be another story. It’s not comparable to today’s stage victory, but for me, personally, this stage win comes as a good sign.

 

The Maglia Azzurra Wout van Aert, commented: “I think I missed out on the stage victory because of the gap left by Julian Alaphilippe to favor Zdenek Stybar. It was a surprise for everyone. I had to react to keep the possibility of winning the stage alive. Mathieu was on my wheel and I was at a point of no return. I led him out and he was in the perfect position. But I took a few bonus seconds, so it was not all negative today. Normally, it would  be very difficult for me to retain the leader’s jersey tomorrow. This situation is completely new for me, but I’m ready to fight. My team is very strong and we saved some energy today. I’ll be hanging on as long as possible. I’ll try to not lose too much time when I’ll get dropped by the climbers and we’ll figure out tomorrow evening if I can still compete for the overall victory.”

 

 

TOMORROW’S STAGE

Stage 4, Terni – Prati di Tivo (148km)

 

A stage with an uphill finish. The maximum altitude of this edition of the Tirreno-Adriatico is reached at the GPM in Prati di Tivo at 1450m. Stage 4 offers a short but very intense route. The riders will climb up to the Forca di Arrone to enter the comune of Rieti. The route then passes through the town of Rieti to face the Sella di Corno before a long descent towards the city of L’Aquila. The riders will subsequently face the climb to Passo Capannelle, classified as a GPM Superior. The following 30km descent is characterized by several curves and two long, well-lit tunnels. The last 14km are entirely uphill towards the ski resort.

 

Last km

The final climb is 14.5km long with an average gradient of 7% and peaks of up to 12%. It has 22 hairpin bends and is steepest in its first half, hitting the hardest gradients where the riders pass through Pietracamela (location of the intermediate sprint). The last three kilometers average 7%. The finishing straight is around 200m long and 7m wide on asphalt.

 

 

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