'I was really on the limit' - Van der Poel survives late scare to score gravel triumph

The finale of the stage saw the peloton tackle 5km of gravel as the road climbed in steps towards the finish town, and Van der Poel was immediately to the fore. After responding to double world champion Julian Alaphilippe’s initial acceleration, Van der Poel took up the reins and split the field with his tempo on the first steep section.

The Alpecin-Premier Tech man was later joined by Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) and Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) at the front, and they would contest a three-up sprint for the win in San Gimignano.

“I knew the first part of the gravel section would be important with the corners, so I made my move there and afterwards I think with Isaac I had a really good rider with me to pull until the finish line,” Van der Poel told Eurosport.

Before that grandstand finish, however, Van der Poel endured a late scare when he had to unclip to avoid falling when Del Toro skidded on an especially slick section of gravel with 3km to go. He had to accelerate to make it back up to the Mexican’s wheel, and he confessed that he feared he would pay for that effort in the final sprint.

“It was really hard,” Van der Poel said. “I had good positioning going into the gravel section and after Julian Alaphilippe went, I tried to make it as hard as possible. Then afterwards, there was one really slippery corner where I almost crashed with Isaac and my chain came off. To get back on the wheel it cost me a lot of energy, and I was really on the limit until the finish line.

Pellizzari looked to spring a surprise by opening the sprint from distance, and Van der Poel was forced to go deep in order to deny the Italian and Del Toro in the final dash for the line on rain-soaked cobbles.

“Like I said, I was really on the limit after coming back after my chain dropped and it was also quite difficult with the surface,” Van der Poel said. “It was super slippery, so I was alternating quite a bit between standing and sitting, but it was just enough to the finish line.”

The stage was billed as a duel between Van der Poel and his old rival Wout van Aert, but the Visma | Lease a Bike rider would make little impression in the finale. Instead, Van der Poel found himself jousting with two riders still at the very outset of their careers.

“It was really tough against those young guys. The level was incredibly high on that climb,” said Van der Poel, who collected his first stage win at Tirreno-Adriatico since his indelible 64km solo effort at Castelfidardo back in 2021.

After winning Omloop Het Nieuwsblad on his first outing of the season, Van der Poel underlined his form once again with this latest triumph as he builds towards his first duel of the year with Tadej Pogacar at Milan-San Remo.

“Tomorrow is a nice stage for Jasper Philipsen for the sprint,” Van der Poel said. “Afterwards we will see, but for me it’s already nice to win a stage here.”