Tadej Pogacar wins in Bellante and takes over Tirreno-Adriatico lead

UAE Team Emirates have had a double win day. After Brandon McNulty took a win at Paris-Nice from the breakaway, in Tirreno-Adriatico Tadej Pogacar took yet another win to his so far incredibly successful season, and has also taken over the race lead.

The breakaway set off with Lilian Calmejane (AG2R Citroën Team), Jasha Sutterlin and Chris Hamilton (Team DSM), Jhonatan Restrepo (Drone Hopper - Androni Giocatolli), Jonathan Caicedo (EF Education - EasyPost), Diego Rosa and Warren Barguil (Team Arkéa Samsic), Einer Rubio (Movistar Team), Tsgabu Grmay (Team BikeExchange - Jayco) and Quinn Simmons (Trek-Segafredo). It was a strong group that went off in the uphill start to the race, but UAE Team Emirates and Jumbo-Visma have controlled the race.

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The race blew up quite early as Simmons attacked from the breakaway with 45 kilometers to go and went off solo in the first lap of the final climb to Bellante. He survived until 13 kilometers to go, despite the flurry of attacks that had sparked. At the summit of the first climb, Alaphilippe launched a move and it created a group with Evenepoel, Pogacar and race leader Filippo Ganna all pulling together and trying to escape the peloton, but caught eventually as the group was still sizeable.

In the penultimate ascent attacks stormed up the front group once again, but with a much larger group getting away, leading to some more effort but with no gaps being consolidated.

It was all to battle for in the final climb. Several attacks sparked off the front, with Remco Evenepoel, Miguel Ángel López and Richie Porte inbetween the attackers, but all attacks were controlled by Tadej Pogacar. The Slovenian climbed with apparent ease, closing several gaps. In the final kilometer Victor Lafay launched a sharp attack and Pogacar launched then off his wheel with 500 meters to go, getting a gap and sustaining it until the finish, taking the stage win and the race lead alongside. Jonas Vingegaard and Victor Lafay completed the podium, as small gaps were created in the final minute of racing.