Tirreno-Adriatico

The longest stage of this year’s race (219km) got underway from Camaiore and took the bunch to Sovicille, a small town lying just ten kilometers from Siena, one of Italy’s most charming cities and the place where Kasper Asgreen nabbed his first podium of the season last weekend, at Strade Bianche.

Containing several climbs inside the final 40 kilometers, the stage was controlled by several teams who had an interest in bringing everything back together for a bunch sprint, which eventually happened despite a late attack that forced the bunch to work hard in order to stick to the plan.

Launched by the powerful Asgreen, Davide Ballerini – who is making this week his first outing for the Wolfpack since the Saudi Tour – showed that he is slowly back on track after a bout of illness that forced him to miss several races, and finished seventh in Sovicille, where Tim Merlier (Alpecin-Fenix) got the victory. The white jersey remained in possession of Remco Evenepoel, who pulled it on after his strong opening stage performance in the Lido di Camaiore individual time trial.

Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images