A high mountain day to save strength and lose the green jersey

56th Tirreno Adriatico
Stage 4: Terni – Prati di Tivo (148 km)

High mountains, maximum hardness, a day for the general classification where to manage to the maximum the forces in view of the next days. In itself, a difficult day in terms of mood. Manuel Belletti was unable to start due to a dislocated left shoulder. On the journey, Vincenzo Albanese lost the lead of the mountain grand prix. In Prati di Tivo, the Slovenian Tadej Pogacar emerged, stage and lead for him in the middle of a battle with a leading role for the great elite of this sport that left important differences.

This time there was no presence in the breakaway of the day for the ProTeam team of the Contador Foundation. Nor was it the most convenient day given the conditioning of the fight for the general classification. It was already seen on the climb to the Passo Campannelle, where Bahrain and UAE began to impose a very high pace. British rider Mark Christian (67th) was the first representative of the EOLO-KOMETA Cycling Team at the foot of the Gran Sasso d’Italia. The rest of the team saved their efforts for the next two stages.

Alejandro Ropero: “I think today’s stage was the hardest, although yesterday’s stage was no joke either. Today we saved a bit for tomorrow when we’ll try to do something good and for the next few days until the final time trial. I tried to stay with the top riders for as long as possible but then I realised it was better to save my legs for tomorrow”.

Mark Christian: “It was a really tough stage and a particular one for our team because we tried not to waste too much. I was in front until the stage blew up and it was still nice to be there for a while. We’re ready for the next few days, very ready”.

This Sunday, the stage of the walls. Between Castellalto and Castellfilardo, 205 kilometres of great exigency due to the presence of many small climbs in the second part of the route. A flat, favourable first half, almost parallel to the Adriatic. A very complicated second half, with four turns on a 23.9 km circuit full of steep hills, climbs and descents. Strength. Explosiveness. Technique. A rollercoaster with gradients up to 19% in some cases. Like the climb to Castellfilardo from the via Valle Oscura, which is climbed four times.

[ PhotoGomezSport (1, 2), La Presse (3)]