Van Avermaet wins by only 1"
Moreno, Valverde both within top 20 overall after TT showdown in San Benedetto; Alex Dowsett 4th on final day
Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) became the 2016 Tirreno-Adriatico champion on Tuesday after holding off Peter Sagan (TNK) by only one second, following a fast, windy TT stage seven in and around San Benedetto del Tronto (10.050km).
Headwinds into most of the day’s route was a support for the early starters and made things harder for the last ones on the start list. Into the opening hour, Alex Dowsett (Movistar Team) completed his best time trial since last May’s win in the Bayern-Rundfahrt, 4th behind an unstoppable Fabian Cancellara (TFS) and Johan Le Bon (FDJ), and equal with ex World champion Tony Martin (EQS). Nelson Oliveira finished in 14th place.
On the other hand, things did not go so well for the three Movistar Team riders into the tight contest for the GC in the Adriatic coast. Alejandro Valverde, 50" off Cancellara’s pace at the finish, took his Tirreno to an end in 18th spot, as Giovanni Visconti and Dani Moreno, both hit hard by the long straights and absolute flat of today’s route, left the race in 16th -best Blue overall- and 23rd, respectively. The Movistar Team came just 21” short to beating Etixx for the teams’ classification.