Another complicated stage took its toll on the riders on the roads to Recanati.
Julian Alaphilippe is on course to notch up his third top 10 finish in a World Tour stage race, after a spirited display on the Classics-style route of Tirreno-Adriatico stage 5, whose main attraction was a 22.8km circuit which the peloton had to cover on three occasions in the final part of the stage that travelled from Colli al Metauro to Recanati, a town renowned in the Middle Ages for its international fair.
Seven riders animated the stage, building enough of a lead to put pressure on the bunch, who began pushing the pedal to the medal once they entered the circuit that gave little respite, with its quick succession of climbs and twisty roads, on which the peloton naturally split, leaving 16 riders in pursuit of the escapees.
Julian Alaphilippe was one of those, and the Frenchman took the initiative, attacking twice in the space of just ten kilometres, only for the group to respond and bridge across. The Deceuninck – Quick-Step rider went to the front again later, after Jakob Fuglsang (Astana) moved clear with 25 kilometers left, trying to organise a chase, which turned out to be fruitless to the lack of cooperation.
Eventually, the tenacious 26-year-old concluded the stage which amounted to more than 2500 vertical meters in 12th place, a result that puts him in fifth overall with two days remaining at Tirreno-Adriatico. Of these, only the final one could play a part in the final outcome, as it consists of a flat 10km individual time trial.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele/ Getty Images
