| MIKEL LANDA 3RD ON QUEEN STAGE OF TIRRENO-ADRIATICO AND MOVES ONTO THE GC PODIUM. |
Bahrain Victorious put on a strong team performance on stage 6 of Tirreno Adriatico. Our three leaders, Mikel Landa, Damiano Caruso and Pello Bilbao, finished in the day’s top ten and also moved up in the best ten riders ranking. |
| The penultimate day of the Race of the Two Seas was also the Queen stage and the most awaited by the GC contenders. |
| In the 215km course from Apecchio to Carpegna, the peloton faced a demanding final circuit, including a 6km climb (averages 9.9 per cent and max. 14%) to be repeated twice. |
The pace was high from the start, and a four-man group jumped clear from the peloton after 25km. The quartet was then joined by other 5 riders establishing the day’s breakaway. It included the KOM leader Simmons, who was looking for points to seal the green jersey ranking and was the last to be caught once he accomplished his mission in the downhill after the first ascent of Monte Carpegna. It was there that our riders started to show their power. Not only on the climb but on the descent too, with Bilbao leading on the technical route. Then it was up to Mikel Landa, whose acceleration split the front group. Only Pogačar, Vingegaard and Mas managed to follow him. On the second ascent of the brutal Carpegna climb, the race saw the decisive attack of the GC leader Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates), who went solo until the finish.
Mikel Landa finalised the great job of from the team crossing the finish line in 3rd place, 1:03 adrift alongside Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma), 2nd. Damiano Caruso and Pello Bilbao finished in 5th and 9th place respectively, and they also entered the top ten in GC, as they sit in 7th and 9th place. |
In the general ranking, Mikel Landa moved up to 3rd place at 2:33 with one day to go.
Thanks to today’s performance, Bahrain Victorious also strengthens its leadership in the best team classification. |
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| Mikel Landa: “I tried and I’m delighted with this stage’s result and moving onto the GC podium too. It was not easy for me as it was very cold today. We attacked in the first ascent because we knew that earlier we started tougher the race would be. Pogacar is very strong and, when he accelerated, is out of this world. I ended last season, not in a good way and starting this new year like that is something that makes me very confident”. |
| Gorazd Stangelj, Bahrain Victorious Sports Director: “Let’s say it was more or less like we had on the plan. We suffered a bit because we wanted to join the break, but we missed it. So we had to chase, and our GC guys, Pello, Damiano and Mikel, were fantastic. Tratnik did his job excellently, and the sprinters group also helped in positioning. Nobody was selfish, and everyone gave their maximum. We are happy with the result. We are happy because it was difficult to plan to be on the final podium, and now we are very close to it. So fingers crossed that everything goes well and we bring home a good result from Tirreno”. |
| Tomorrow, the 7-day stage race will end with a sprinters’ stage in San Benedetto del Tronto. |
| (All pictures can be used for editorial and non-commercial usages only and are copyright @Sprintcycling @TeamBahrainVictorious) |
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