Pogačar continues his strong start to 2022 with a big day at Tirreno-Adriatico
Pogačar continues his strong start to 2022 with a big day at Tirreno-Adriatico
With 12 days of racing under his belt so far in 2022, Tadej Pogačar has already racked up five victories, notching the fifth on Thursday’s stage 4 of Tirreno-Adriatico.
The two-time Tour de France winner was an aggressive presence on lumpy roads at the front of the Italian stage race. Pogačar initially went clear with overnight leader Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) and Remco Evenepoel (QuickStep-Alpha Vinyl), and then, after that move was caught, he powered away in the uphill final kilometer to take the stage win and the race lead.
“After a hard effort from the team, we pulled all day, I was thinking, ‘If I don’t give it a go, it will be a bad day for us,'” Pogačar said. “We did everything right, and in the end it was a good day for a victory.”
After Thursday’s GC shakeup, the top of the Tirreno-Adriatico is a who’s who of the stars likely to shine in the sport for years to come. Evenepoel, 22, is in second, nine seconds back. Ganna, 25, is 21 seconds back in third. 22-year-old Thymen Arensman (36) in fourth at 36 seconds down, 26-year-old Tao Geoghegan Hart is in fifth at 43 seconds down, and 25-year-old Jonas Vingegaard (Jumbo-Visma) is in sixth at 45 seconds down.
A punchy stage 5 finish could see more GC action on Friday before a pair of trips up the hors categorie Monte Carpegna on Saturday’s stage 6 should prove decisive in the overall battle.
Tirreno-Adriatico (2.UWT) Cascata delle Marmore → Bellante
POGAČAR Tadej
POGAČAR Tadej
SIMMONS Quinn
POGAČAR Tadej
INEOS Grenadiers