Easy day for Wout Van Aert in Tirreno Adriatico

Relatively easy day for former race leader Wout Van Aert and his team Jumbo-Visma on stage 6 in Tirreno Adriatico

Easy day for Wout Van Aert in Tirreno Adriatico

Team Press Release

Team Jumbo-Visma has come through the penultimate stage of Tirreno-Adriatico without any problems. In a stage that was coloured by the breakaway, team leader Wout Van Aert finished 13th. Tuesday is the final time trial.

Everything seemed to indicate that the stage would end in a bunch sprint, just like the opening stage won by Van Aert. Six riders were in the lead all day and got a maximum lead of six minutes. With twenty kilometres to go, the remaining lead was still three minutes, so the peloton decided to give up. As a result, the front group was rewarded for its effort. Dane Mads Würtz Schmidt took the win.

Van Aert was not very disappointed with the way the stage went. “As a team, we chose not to go full speed behind the leaders. After the tough stages in recent days, an easy day was welcome. The speed was still there for the whole peloton, but we were able to save as much energy as possible for tomorrow’s time trial. The breakaway consisted of strong guys. We never got really close to them. It doesn’t happen often that the front group makes it to the finish in a relatively flat stage. It’s nice to see that sometimes.”

“Stage victory in the time trial will be difficult, but I’m going to give it my all in any case.”

The Belgian time trial champion talked in a realistic way about tomorrow’s final race against the clock. “I will have to go full speed in the last stage. I think I also have a chance for a good classification in that stage. Fillipo Ganna is a very strong rider in the peloton, who in recent months has won just about every time trial he has started. The stage victory will be difficult, but I will not settle in advance with not being able to win. I’m going to give it my all in any case.