Tirreno-Adriatico (st. 4)
Quintana finishes 8th in Castelraimondo after staying with main Tirreno-Adriatico favourites in Crispiero climbs. Fine attacks by Visconti in finale; strong Castroviejo now in 6th overall
The ‘marathon stage’ of the 2015 Tirreno-Adriatico -226km from Indicatore to Castelraimondo- caused the first selection of candidates for the overall, set to be contested tomorrow atop the Terminillo shouldn’t unfavourable weather forecast become a threat for Sunday’s route. Nairo Quintana, well protected by the Movistar Team riders, did not have to respond to attacks by his main rivals and stayed into an elite group anticipated by Dutchman Wout Poels. The Team Sky rider went on to win the stage and put on the Maglia Azzurra after jumping away just over the last ascent.
The Movistar Team, which wore the Maglia Bianca today with Jesús Herrada as second in the young riders’ standings, had a prominent role in the finale with a breakaway by Giovanni Visconti. The Italian, successfully recovered from illness forcing him to abandon in the Vuelta a Andalucía, tried a move alongside Scarponi (AST) and Arredondo (TFR) before being chased down by a short peloton where also Jonathan Castroviejo sticked until the last kilometer of climbing. The Basque allrounder, not further back at the finish, remains in 6th overall, 28” behind Poels and 6” ahead of Nairo, who is now close to the overall top-ten (14th) before Sunday’s Queen stage (210km).