The Tirreno-Adriatico continued Wednesday and Thursday with a 170-kilometer stage and a 202-kilometer stage.
Jonas Vingegaard gave Team Jumbo-Visma another podium place Thursday. The 25-year-old Dane finished second on the climb of Bellante and moved up to sixth place in the general classification.
After a furious start, 10 riders succeeded in getting in the breakaway. They got a six-minute advantage, but the leaders knew that the battle for the day's victory was not for them due to the peloton’s high tempo. With just 13 kilometers to go, the last remaining attacker was swallowed up, and the final climb would decide the winner.
Despite a barrage of attacks on the way to Bellante, no one was able to create a gap. Later, Tadej Pogacar of UAE Team Emirates managed to do so when he launched his final sprint in the final kilometer and outsprinted all his competitors. The closest rider to the Slovenian was Vingegaard, who finished second, crossing two seconds later.
“I'm pleased with my performance,” Vingegaard said. “Pogacar was incredible in the sprint, so hats off to him. After all, it was a tough day today. The fact that I finished second gives me a good feeling.”
Sepp Kuss was the second Jumbo-Visma rider to finish, crossing 1:10 after the winner in 42nd.
Giulio Ciccone led Trek-Segafredo with a fifth-place finish, crossing five seconds after Pogacar.
Quinn Simmons finished 79th, 6:52 back, after helping Ciccone.
On Wednesday, Jumbo-Visma’s Olav Kooij reached the podium with a third-place finish.
The third stage of the Race of the Two Seas offered little spectacle. Six riders formed the day’s escape and got a six-minute lead. With 45 kilometers to go, the group got caught, seemingly indicating that a bunch sprint would decide the winner.
Pogacar, Marc Soler, Julian Alaphillipe and Tao Geoghegan Hart tried to prevent this scenario, but with 10 kilometers to go, they were reeled in by a hungry peloton. Jos van Emden, Edoardo Affini and Tosh van der Sande guided Kooij to the front and put the youngster in a good position.
Although Kooij did his utmost to reward his team’s hard work, he couldn’t keep up with Caleb Ewan and Arnaud Démare. “When they attacked, I already felt that I would come up short for the victory,” Kooij said. “It's nice to see how we approached the final. The fact that I've achieved another podium finish is certainly not bad.”
Vingegaard finished 26th on Wednesday while Kuss crossed 67th.
Matteo Moschetti led Trek Segafredo with a 10th-place finish. Simmons finished in the peloton in 46th.
INEOS Grenadiers currently leads the team race. Jumbo-Visma is 3:47 back in 10th while Trek-Segafredo is 11:29 back in 17th. Pogacar leads the general classification by nine seconds. Kuss is 47th and Simmons is 78th. Simmons, however, is the currently King of the Mountain leader with 15 points.
