Tirreno-Adriatico (st. 6)

Spaniard spends 190km into seven-man escape prior to bunch sprint in Jesi -won by Alaphilippe (DQT)-, 10km ITT showdown in San Benedetto del Tronto on Tuesday.

Following Lluís Mas’ brave attempt on Saturday’s Fossombrone stage four and Jorge Arcas’ escape on Sunday towards Recanati, another Spanish rider from the Movistar Team wore the Blue colours at the front during the penultimate stage of the 2019 Tirreno-Adriatico -195km between Matelica and Jesi- with a breakaway from José Joaquín Rojas.

The veteran allrounder from Murcia joined a seven-man move alongside Gijs Van Hoecke (CPT), Igor Boev (GAZ), Mirco Maestri (BRD), Davide Ballerini (AST), Dayer Quintana (NSK) and Ben King (TDD), a group never left more than three minutes ahead by the insistence of teams with sprinters. Rojas, who attempted to squeeze his chances by creating a further selection inside the last circuit -with only Ballerini following him-, was caught with just 4km to go, after 190 at the front, before a chaotic bunch sprint saw Julian Alaphilippe (DQT) taking a surprise victory.

Richard Carapaz remains in the overall top-20 before the traditional ITT showdown (10km) in San Benedetto del Tronto on Tuesday, a final effort in Italy four days before Milano-Sanremo.

— 2019 Tirreno-Adriatico TT start times (Tuesday 19th, all CET): Prades 14.20, Arcas 14.29, Sütterlin 14.51, Rojas 15.09, Oliveira 15.19, Carapaz 15.32.

Cover picture (c): Luca Bettini / BettiniPhoto.net