Del Toro cannot drop Jorgenson as UAE and Visma set for major Saturday showdown

On stage 5, Michael Valgren stayed clear from the break to take a hugely emotional victory, while Del Toro and Jorgenson finished 11 seconds later after attacking in the finale. Del Toro’s repeated accelerations were enough to distance Giulio Pellizzari and swing the general classification back in his favour, but Jorgenson was the only rider who could follow him all the way to the line. As a result, Del Toro now leads Tirreno-Adriatico, with Pellizzari second at 23 seconds and Jorgenson third at 34 seconds.

“It's great to be back in the leader's jersey,” Del Toro said during the press conference. “We did a fantastic job as a team, worked hard, and it paid off.” UAE Emirates-XRG certainly dominated the final stretch of the fifth stage, though Del Toro really had to go it alone on the final climb.

For a brief moment, it looked like Del Toro was being pushed onto the defensive. EF Education-EasyPost launched an attack with Richard Carapaz, and he was unable to shake off his direct rivals during the first accelerations. “That didn’t go quite according to plan. There was a strong breakaway group, which meant we had to ride hard all day. That made it difficult for everyone, so we’ll pay the price for that tomorrow.”

Del Toro nevertheless hopes to have strong legs on Saturday, in the final mountain stage. “My plan today was to reclaim the leader’s jersey, and the plan for tomorrow is to keep it. I’m happy with a 23-second lead, though you’d prefer a bigger one. Everyone in the top seven is still a competitor for me. I hope to race at the front tomorrow and go for the stage win.'

Although Pellizzari is second in the standings, based on Friday, we can say that Jorgenson is Del Toro's biggest competitor on Saturday. The American of Visma | Lease a Bike cleverly kept pace with Del Toro. "This is a really great result for today. I’m extremely happy with it," Jorgenson said through his team's channels.

The climber stated that he had barely had to waste any energy before the classification riders got into it on the final climb. "That allowed me to save some energy. In the end, that helped me gain time and move up in the general classification. Near the finish I tried to get away from Del Toro, but I couldn’t make it stick. Tomorrow brings another final opportunity. I’ll once again aim for the best possible result."