If you want a masterclass in how to expend maximum energy for absolutely zero reward, just look at Team Visma | Lease a Bike’s tactical playbook during Stage 4 of Tirreno-Adriatico. They spent the final 20 kilometers completely detonating the peloton, burning all their matches to set up Wout van Aert, only to essentially build a perfectly paved runway for Mathieu van der Poel to sprint away with his second stage win of the week.
It is a tale as old as time, and somehow, it never gets any less devastating for the guys in yellow and black.
The Tortoreto Torture
Let’s set the scene. The peloton had already suffered through 200 kilometers of freezing rain and deceptive, grinding climbs from Tagliacozzo. By the time they hit the brutal, 8.5 percent gradients of the Tortoreto climb, everyone was effectively riding on fumes.
That’s exactly when Visma decided to light the fuse. Matteo Jorgenson hit the front of the bunch and turned himself inside out. The American’s relentless pacing shattered the field, unceremoniously dropping guys like Julian Alaphilippe and Magnus Sheffield. Jorgenson successfully reduced the front of the race to an elite group of heavy hitters: Van Aert, Filippo Ganna, Primoz Roglic, Isaac del Toro, and, unfortunately for Visma, a completely unbothered Mathieu van der Poel.
An Insultingly Easy Sprint
Once Jorgenson finally swung off, the attacks inevitably started flying. Jan Christen tried to jump early. Filippo Ganna threw down a massive, terrifying acceleration. But none of it mattered.
The reduced group barreled toward the flat, coastal finish in Martinsicuro together, setting up the exact scenario Visma had ostensibly been working for. Van Aert tried to wind it up, but when Van der Poel finally stomped on the pedals inside the final few hundred meters, it wasn’t even a contest. The World Champion surged clear of the group with insultingly explosive power, easily taking the stage ahead of Giulio Pellizzari and Tobias Halland Johannessen.
Van Aert crossed the line in fifth. Thanks for the lead-out, guys.
Red Bull’s Quiet GC Coup
While the cyclocross rivals were busy fighting for the stage glory, the most consequential move of the day happened completely under the radar.
Twenty-two-year-old Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) surfed the wheels perfectly during the chaos of the finale, sprinting to a brilliant second place. Crucially, he scooped up enough time bonuses to rip the overall race lead directly off the shoulders of UAE Team Emirates-XRG’s Isaac del Toro.
Red Bull brought the veteran powerhouse Primoz Roglic to this race, but it turns out they might just win the whole thing with a kid instead. Pellizzari will wear the blue jersey into tomorrow’s brutal mountain stage, while Van der Poel can spend his evening comfortably polishing his Maglia Ciclamino. The Classics are looming, and MVDP is already looking terrifyingly sharp.
Results
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