Julian Alaphilippe was our first rider in the general classification.
For the second consecutive year, Tirreno-Adriatico concluded with a bunch sprint, after the organisers decided to scrap again the traditional individual time trial in San Benedetto del Tronto that had become since the beginning of the century.
The seventh stage of the race could be divided in two different parts: a hilly one, perfect for a breakaway to gain time on the peloton, and a completely flat second half, where the sprinters’ teams had plenty of time to bring back the escapees. Soudal Quick-Step was prominent at the front of the bunch from the start, setting a steady tempo behind the nine-man breakaway, who thanks to the effort put in by our team had only two minutes in hand by the time it entered the San Benedetto del Tronto circuit.
There, they were comfortably overhauled by the field, which was betting everything on a mass gallop. Our team controlled the finale, but unfortunately, stage 2 winner Fabio Jakobsen lost the wheel of his teammates before the final kilometers and couldn’t fight for the victory – which went to Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) – coming home outside the top ten.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images
Julian Alaphilippe 
