VAN DER POEL WINS IN THRILLING FINISH
Catching and overtaking Matteo Fabbro with 300m to go to the line, Van der Poel took a stunning victory to end a hectic day of racing. S. Yates, finishing just seconds behind in the peloton, retains the lead of the GC ahead of the final ITT.
Loreto, 13 September 2020 - Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin - Fenix) has won the seventh stage of the Tirreno-Adriatico EOLO, seizing his first victory at the 'Corsa dei Due Mari' in style. The stage was characterized by a large breakaway of 14 riders. Matteo Fabbro (Bora - Hansgrohe), one of the fourteen to escape, went solo in the closing kms before being caught and overtaken by Van der Poel (also in the original breakaway) just 300 meters from the finish line in a thrilling conclusion to the stage. Ruben Guerreiro (EF Pro Cycling) finished second ahead of Matteo Fabbro.
In the general classification, Simon Yates (Mitchelton - Scott) retains the Maglia Azzurra on the eve of the final individual time trial in San Benedetto del Tronto with a lead of 16 and 39 seconds from Rafal Majka (Bora - Hansgrohe) and Geraint Thomas (Team Ineos) respectively.
SAN BENEDETTO DEL TRONTO ITT
The first rider to start in tomorrow's ITT, over the traditional 10,050m route, will be Matthias Brandle at 13:00, the last will be the Maglia Azzurra Simon Yates at 15:46.
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Matteo Fabbro (Bora - Hansgrohe) (above) said: “I had a big chance today and I wanted to take it. Mathieu was stronger though, congratulations to him. The way I rode gives me a lot of confidence for my future and it’s a great morale booster, it’s just a shame I didn’t get the result! I wanted to win, I'll definitely try again in the Giro d'Italia”.
STAGE RESULT
1 - Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin - Fenix) 181km in 4h19'23", average speed 41.869 km/h
2 - Ruben Guerreiro (EF Pro Cycling) at 4"
3 - Matteo Fabbro (Bora - Hansgrohe) s.t.
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
1 - Simon Yates (Mitchelton - Scott)
2 - Rafal Majka (Bora - Hansgrohe) at 16"
3 - Geraint Thomas (Team Ineos) at 39"
4 - Aleksandr Vlasov (Astana Pro Team) at 49"
5 - Fausto Masnada (Deceuninck - Quick-Step) at 57"
JERSEYS
- Maglia Azzurra (blue), General Classification Leader, sponsored by Gazprom - Simon Yates (Mitchelton - Scott)
- Maglia Arancio (orange), Sprinter Classification Leader, sponsored by Sportful - Pascal Ackermann (Bora - Hansgrohe)
- Maglia Verde (green), King of the Mountains Classification Leader, sponsored by Enel - Hector Carretero (Movistar Team)
- Maglia Bianca (white), Young Rider General Classification Leader, sponsored by Sara Assicurazioni - Aleksandr Vlasov (Astana Pro Team)
STATISTICS
- This is Mathieu Van der Poel’s first win at the Tirreno-Adriatico and the 22nd stage victory taken by a Dutch rider in the history of the race. The Netherlands is tied with Spain in 3rd place on the all-time list of wins by nation, behind Belgium (43) and Italy (154).
- Ruben Guerreiro is only the second rider from Portugal to have taken a stage podium at the Tirreno-Adriatico.
- Matteo Fabbro took his first professional stage podium today, finishing third. Prior to today, Fabbro’s most recent success was a victory in the prologue of the Under 23s’ Giro della Valle d’Aosta in 2017.
VELON DATA
Data collected by Velon’s devices on the riders’ bikes tells a detailed story of the race. Data can be found here.
PRESS CONFERENCE
The stage winner Mathieu van der Poel, said in the press conference: "It was an incredibly hard stage, we went full gas from the start. I had not planned to go in the breakaway but after an hour of racing, I saw some very strong riders attack and I followed them. The stage proved to be harder than we thought; so many steep climbs! We did a perfect job, particularly my teammate Dries De Bondt who was in the break with me. I am very happy about this victory because I was not feeling great at the beginning of the week, then my legs got better and better. Yesterday’s win by Tim Merlier gave a great boost of confidence to the whole team, we proved we deserved the invitation to this race – we didn't come here to just ride but to win stages!"
Mathieu van der Poel celebrates the victory with his teammate Dries De Bondt
The Maglia Azzurra Simon Yates, said in the press conference: "It was a very fast start and really hard to control. If we'd have had an easier day, we could have tried to go for the win, but with such a chaotic stage, we decided to defend and stay calm. Now I know that I'll have 16 and 39 seconds over Majka and Thomas for tomorrow’s final ITT. I would have preferred a bigger gap because they are both very good against the clock and in good form. Whatever happens tomorrow, it will be a close finish, the race is not over yet! I’ll do my best to win this Tirreno-Adriatico."
The Maglia Bianca Aleksandr Vlasov said: “It’s a big shame that Jakob [Fuglsang] didn’t win today. There were 14 riders in the breakaway and we didn’t have anyone, so we worked hard to close the gap to give Jakob a chance to win. He was very strong, but things didn’t go to plan unfortunately. I’ll try to do my best in the time trial tomorrow, it’ll be a big test of my ability. I’m going against riders like Thomas, which is hard, but I’m hoping to finish on the podium in the GC. After tomorrow, I’ll be preparing for the Giro d'Italia, I don’t know what to expect because it will be my first Grand Tour but I’m looking forward to it.”
The Maglia Arancio Pascal Ackermann said: “Today was tough. It was a crazy stage, I wasn’t expecting it to be quite this hard. I’m just glad that I made it to the finish and I’m looking forward to having a shower! Matteo [Fabbro] did a great job, he came so close! I feel sorry for him because he deserved the win with that ride. Tomorrow is a day for Rafal [Majka], hopefully he can put in a good performance and take the Maglia Azzurra from Yates.”
The Maglia Verde Hector Carretero said: “Today was the last big day for me in the race. I was too tired to try anything on this stage but I have kept the jersey in the end so I’m very pleased. I would have liked to have won a stage this year but it’s still very special to have the Maglia Verde! There are lots of positives for me and I’m excited for the Giro.”
TOMORROW'S STAGE
Stage 8 - San Benedetto del Tronto (ITT - 10km)
The 10,050m individual time trial is raced on the same route that has featured since 2015. The starting platform is located in viale Tamerici (Riva sud), from there the route proceeds towards Porto d’Ascoli along the seafront. From Piazza Salvo d’Acquisto (intermediate timekeeping - km 4.7) it continues for about 750m before going up to San Benedetto del Tronto where the race ends on the traditional finish line in viale Buozzi.
Last km
The final 3km take place over wide and predominantly straight roads. The road heads back towards the seafront before reaching the finish line. At 2.5km to go, riders will negotiate two turns before hitting the final straight, 2500m from the finish. The finishing straight is 8m wide and asphalt.
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