Saturday, March 11, 2023 at 4:30 PM
Primoz Roglic has also won the sixth stage of Tirreno-Adriatico after the fourth and fifth stages. In the so-called Stage of the Wallsa hill stage with a whole zipper of calf bites, he was the fastest in the sprint of an elite group.
Those who wanted to rest on their laurels after Friday’s mountain stage were disappointed in Tirreno-Adriatico. The sixth stage to and from Osimo was very tough. In this ‘mural ride’ the steep climbs followed each other in rapid succession.
Even in the first hour of competition, the necessary pimples were waiting, but eleven riders were not deterred by this. Mountain jersey wearer Davide Bais (EOLO-Kometa), Gianni Vermeersch (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Mike Teunissen, Georg Zimmerman (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty), Nikias Arndt (Bahrain Victorious), Krists Neiland (Israel-Premier Tech), Casper Pedersen (Soudal Quick-Step), Clément Russo (Arkéa-Samsic), Alessandro De Marchi (Jayco AlUla), Valentin Ferron (TotalEnergies) and Quinn Simmons (Trek-Segafredo) fled early in the stage.
A flat tire for Van der Poel in the opening phase – photo: Cor Vos
The attackers amassed a lead of three and a half minutes. Sixty kilometers from the end, when the gap had already narrowed considerably, Santiago Buitrago tried to make the leap forward. He received help from his teammate Arndt, who dropped back. The Colombian thus joined the escapees, but the peloton came back at about forty kilometers from the finish.
Van Aert accelerates
This was mainly due to Jumbo-Visma, which continued on the climbs towards the arrival place Osimo, where the riders passed several times before the actual finish. Wout van Aert, who led the troops with Primoz Roglic in his wheel, caused quite a selection. Mathieu van der Poel, among others, passes. Julian Alaphilippe also seemed to throw in the towel, but the Frenchman was able to return to the line shortly before the passage. A group of about twenty riders started the last lap.
Van Aert leads the dance – photo: Cor Vos
Wilco Kelderman was also in that group, but literally dropped out. He tapped his front wheel against his predecessor and slid down. The Dutchman from Jumbo-Visma was able to continue his way. In the meantime, the necessary riders came back to the peloton from behind, but four drivers got away at the front. Guillaume Martin was the first to go on the offensive and was joined by Alex Aranburu, Carlos Verona and Aleksandr Vlasov. The latter was seventh in the standings, 21 seconds behind Primoz Roglic.
In pursuit of Vlasov
Because the four had about half a minute at one point, Jumbo-Visma had to chase. Tiesj Benoot and Wout van Aert later received help from UAE Emirates, which delegated Davide Formolo. Together they ensured that the difference between twenty and thirty seconds fluctuated. An acceleration from INEOS Grenadiers reduced the difference to almost nothing before the start of the two closing slopes.
When the four were actually caught by the throat, an attack came from Mikel Landa. Hugh Carthy tried to follow but had to drop out. Roglic managed to make the jump, just like Enric Mas, João Almeida, Tao Geoghegan Hart, Michael Woods, Giulio Ciccone and Vlasov. Lennard Kamna, Brandon McNulty and Wilkco Kelderman, among others – the numbers two and four and five in the standings – have already gone overboard.
Hat trick for Roglic
Just before the final steep incline to Osimo began, Woods mumbled out from under it. He started the climb with a lead. The Canadian really couldn’t hold on, because the rest of the group caught up with him again when entering the last kilometer. Then we saw an acceleration from Enric Mas, but he managed to keep his wheel with a small group of riders. Among them Primoz Roglic, who had the strongest final shot in the last meters.
