{"id":204863,"date":"2026-03-12T12:11:47","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T12:11:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?p=204863"},"modified":"2026-03-12T15:12:04","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T15:12:04","slug":"del-toro-leads-tirreno-adriatico-with-toughest-climbs-still-to-come","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2026\/03\/12\/del-toro-leads-tirreno-adriatico-with-toughest-climbs-still-to-come\/","title":{"rendered":"Del Toro Leads Tirreno-Adriatico, With Toughest Climbs Still to Come"},"content":{"rendered":"

Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates\u2013XRG), fresh from a strong podium finish in last weekend\u2019s Strade Bianche, has a slim lead in one of this week\u2019s two Tour de France warm-up races (the other being Paris-Nice), with all the difficult climbs still to come. After Wednesday\u2019s stage 3, he is a mere 4 seconds ahead of the improving Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull\u2013BORA\u2013hansgrohe), with the always dangerous Red Bull rider Primo\u017e Rogli\u010d back in fifth, at 19 seconds.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Van der Poel by a hair<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Tuesday\u2019s stage 2 was crucial to the current standings, and had one of the most exciting finishes of this young season, with del Toro and Pellizzari managing to stick to the wheel of pre-stage favorite Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin\u2013Premier Tech), who tried to break away \u00a06.2km from the finish at San Gimignano, on the gravel stretch called the \u201cWhite Road.\u201d He was followed by the two aforementioned riders and Visma\u2013Lease a Bike\u2019s Matteo Jorgenson, who crashed a few hundred meters later on a tricky corner, as van der Poel attacked again.<\/p>\n

The crash held up del Toro and Pellizzari as van der Poel accelerated, and one had to believe that the race was as good as over. But they managed to catch him with 4km left to ride, and rode past him when the usually sure-riding eight-time cyclocross world champion slipped and unclipped just after another treacherous curve, a curve that nearly took down del Toro and in which Thymen Arensman (INEOS Grenadiers) later crashed and fell out of GC contention.<\/p>\n

The three rode together into the final km, chased by a group that contained many GC contenders, including Rogli\u010d, Jorgenson, Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain-Victorious), Javier Romo (Movistar), Ben Healy and Richard Carapaz (both EF Education\u2013 EasyPost) and Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek). That was the reason del Toro took charge of the leading trio and went full gas, giving up the chance for the stage win in favor of putting seconds between himself and his GC rivals.<\/p>\n

But a funny thing happened on the way to the finish line. Apparently afraid to sprint against van der Poel, Pellizzari attacked 200 meters from the line, opening up a few meters. But van der Poel caught and passed him and seemed to be heading to a comfortable win, when the indefatigable del Toro suddenly surged and nearly caught him. All three finished at the same time and exhausted \u2013 especially van der Poel.<\/p>\n

“It was very difficult,” he said after the race. “The level was incredibly high on the last climb. The rain in the last half hour made it quite tricky, especially. But the team did a fantastic job.\u201d<\/p>\n

It had rained on and off during the stage, turning the gravel section into a treacherous challenge. It was surprising to see van der Poel challenged on a stage and surface that seemed ready-made for him. “I wanted to take the lead because I knew there were some tricky corners,\u201d he explained. \u201cThe road was quite slippery, so it was very tricky to sprint while standing. I had just saved enough energy to win.”<\/p>\n

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A post shared by Tirreno Adriatico (@tirreno_adriatico)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n