Breakaway holds off the favourites on the hilly roads of Friday’s leg.
Mombaroccio, a village of around 2000 people, welcomed the race at the end of the fifth stage. The route promised to bring more changes to an already tight general classification, and it delivered in this regard, as the GC men showed their intentions on the final “wall” of the day.
Unfortunately for Soudal Quick-Step, our team had to continue the week in six, after Ilan Van Wilder was forced to say goodbye to the race before the start due to illness. Ethan Hayter tried to get involved in the day’s break, but despite his best efforts, the peloton responded to that attack and reeled him in. A group eventually went clear, and from there, Michael Valgren (EF Education Easy Post) emerged in the closing kilometers to take the victory just a few seconds ahead of the overall classification contenders.
As was the case also on the previous stage, Louis Vervaeke was the team’s first rider home. Tirreno-Adriatico will continue with an even tougher day, to Camerino, where the riders will tackle four classified climbs and numerous other unranked hills, making up for a total of 4000 meters of vertical gain.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images
