Dutch star Mathieu van der Poel won a thrilling stage five of Tirreno-Adriatico in Catelfidardo today. Photo: Twitter @@AlpecinFenix
Dutch star Mathieu van der Poel won a thrilling stage five of Tirreno-Adriatico in Catelfidardo today for his second win in this year’s ‘Race of the Two Seas’.
Van der Poel won a sprint for the third stage having won the Strade Bianche last weekend in Tuscany.
He attacked the peloton with just over 50km to go and hung on to finish 10 seconds clear of overnight leader and reigning Tour de France winner Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates).
Pogacar extended his lead with his runner-up finish to 1:15 over Wout van Aert (Jumbo Visma) and looks well on course to win his second title of 2021 having claimed the UAE Tour in February.
Monday’s penultimate stage should see the sprinters take centre stage in the 169km ride from Castelraimondo to Lido di Fermo.
Stage five results:
1. Mathieu van der Poel (NED) Alpecin-Fenix 4:48:17
2. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates 0:10
3. Wout van Aert (BEL) Jumbo-Visma 0:49
4. Fabio Felline (ITA) Astana-Premier Tech 01:26
5. Egan Bernal Gomez (COL) Ineos Grenadiers 02:07
6. Davide Formolo (ITA) UAE Team Emirates 02:07
7. Tim Wellens (BEL) Lotto Soudal 02:18
8. Alessandro De Marchi (ITA) Israel Start-up Nation 02:18
9. Mikel Landa Meana (ESP) Bahrain Victorious 02:25
10. Matteo Fabbro (ITA) Bora-Hansgrohe 02:45
GC standings after stage five:
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates 22:41:41
2. Wout van Aert (BEL) Jumbo-Visma 01:15
3. Mikel Landa Meana (ESP) Bahrain Victorious 03:00
4. Egan Bernal Gomez (COL) Ineos Grenadiers 03:30
5. Matteo Fabbro (ITA) Bora-Hansgrohe 03:54
6. Tim Wellens (BEL) Lotto Soudal 04:30
7. Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep 04:42
8. Romain Bardet (FRA) Team DSM 05:03
9. Vincenzo Nibali (ITA) Trek-Segafredo 05:54
10. Simon Yates (GBR) Team BikeExchange 06:58
