Jonathan Milan wins Tirreno-Adriatico finale as Van der Poel’s ‘Sanremo training’ shakes up the sprinters

After six entertaining days of racing — during which the general classification battle unfolded exactly as expected — it was Isaac Del Toro who came out on top overall. The Mexican rider defeated Giulio Pellizzari and Matteo Jorgenson and, wearing the blue leader’s jersey, sealed the deal with a stage win in Camerino. The final day was mainly about surviving, as the flat stage to San Benedetto del Tronto was not expected to cause major difficulties.

Under bright spring sunshine, the riders rolled out for the final stage. Three riders managed to break clear from the peloton: Xabier Mikel Azparren (Q36.5), Roberto Carlos González (Solution Tech–NIPPO–Rali) and Dries De Bondt (Jayco AlUla). Over the flat opening 25 kilometres they built a lead of around three minutes, but once the hilly section began that advantage started to shrink.

When the road tilted upward, the pace increased dramatically. Alpecin–Deceuninck sensed an opportunity to drop some of the top sprinters and first Edward Planckaert — and then even Mathieu van der Poel — took control at the front. The pace was ferocious and the peloton was split to pieces. The GC contenders had to stay near the front, because anyone caught out of position suddenly had gaps to close.

Among those affected was Pellizzari, while Thymen Arensman (INEOS Grenadiers) also had to chase back on. Jonathan Milan (Lidl–Trek) was briefly put under pressure by the tempo, but it soon became clear the move was not designed for Jasper Philipsen. Van der Poel kept pushing and even dropped his Belgian teammate, leaving a front group of just thirty riders.

That group plunged into the descent. The main GC contenders were present, but Tobias Lund Andresen (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) was also there and appeared to be the fastest man in the reduced front group. However, the peloton was not far behind, and Van der Poel — who may well have seen the effort as training for Milan–San Remo — was forced to do the work almost entirely on his own.

With 65 kilometres remaining, the move was effectively over. The peloton rejoined the front group, although there were casualties: Arnaud De Lie (Lotto–Dstny) had been dropped and was forced to chase hard. After a bike change, things looked even worse for the Belgian champion, but his team worked tirelessly to bring him back.

The peloton was then able to ride relatively calmly toward the finish — except for the intermediate sprint with 45 kilometres to go. There, a small battle broke out: Matteo Jorgenson and Giulio Pellizzari sprinted for the bonus seconds. The American took three seconds, leapfrogging the Italian in the general classification. Moments after the sprint, Pellizzari launched an immediate counterattack. The move was quickly neutralised, but it provided an entertaining spectacle.

For De Lie, the lull in the action was perfectly timed. With 30 kilometres to go, he finally managed to return to the peloton. In the end, Van der Poel’s earlier efforts had little lasting effect, and the race gradually shifted toward a traditional sprint scenario. The sprint teams of Soudal Quick-Step and Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale moved to the front, which naturally increased the tension again.

Was it simply a matter of waiting for the sprint? Not according to Uno-X Mobility. The Norwegian team launched a two-stage attack, with Jonas Abrahamsen as the final rider to go clear. He set off alone and tried to stay ahead of the peloton in the final eight kilometres. The powerful Norwegian quickly gained a gap of around ten seconds and is known for his ability to keep going. Even with three kilometres to go, the peloton had still not fully closed the gap.

Then the sprint trains finally kicked into full gear. Just before the final kilometres there was a heavy crash involving, among others, Jasper Philipsen and Paul Magnier, ruling both out of the sprint. It briefly seemed to play into Abrahamsen’s hands, as he fought valiantly to stay away. However, thanks in part to a strong pull from Filippo Ganna, the peloton brought the escapee back and the expected bunch sprint finally took place. Milan launched his sprint and powered to victory, securing the stage win.