"Now everything went well" - Mathieu van der Poel rocks lead-out duty as he brings Jasper Philipsen to Tirreno-Adriatico victory

Mathieu van der Poel is a man for the classics and hilly races. Despite a strong sprinting ability the Dutchman almost never takes part in bunch sprints, but today he was a critical piece in Jasper Philipsen's win.

"I wasn't scared, because I'm not going for a classification or anything," van der Poel told reporters after the finish in Foligno. He was riding together with the Belgian when the race split inside the final kilometers, a move which proved very dangerous both for the stage and GC classification. "So that wouldn't be a drama, but I'm glad I was in that first echelon with Jasper and could still help him."

The peloton came back to the front however van der Poel's new role was put to the test. Ahead of many other stronger leadouts, Alpecin-Deceuninck managed to enter the final treacherous section to the finish in front, and van der Poel himself led out Jasper Philipsen. As the 25-year old sprinted to victory van der Poel raised his arms in celebration from the distance.

"I am very happy. It just went wrong on Tuesday, but now everything went well. I am very happy with that, I hope it is the start of something good and more victories for our team," he concluded. Before going for his own chances van der Poel has contributed to Alpecin's first win of the season. There will still be two hilly days ahead in the race where he will have his own chances of succeeding.