Tirreno–Adriatico - Stage 4

With the bulk of the climbing on Stage 4 stacked into the last third of the race, plenty of riders were eager to get up the road. It took over 50 kilometers for the break to go. While there were no mountains, the few smaller climbs had groups splitting and rejoining with aggressive racing.

I doled out some big efforts to cover some GC teams like Ineos, Astana, and Trek trying to get up the road. Eventually, things calmed down, and we rolled along a smooth valley that was surprisingly repaved. It was the first time this week we weren’t weaving through potholes and busted pavement. The smooth and flat roads didn’t last long, and we turned up a solid 10-km climb where the group was cut down to 50 or so riders.

I was happy to be there with Simon, Jack, and Lucas and put in some significant positioning efforts over the top to keep Simon upfront as the rain began to fall. The group swarmed a bit as we headed into the final climb, and I made a few more efforts to keep the guys well placed before hitting the eject button on the climb and slowly pedaling in, knowing we were well positioned with our three climbers set to go.

Upfront, Simon put in a strong move to pull out a couple of the favorites and shave the group down. As they were caught on the downhill, Lucas launched a move that would see him go to the line and win a two-up sprint for his first WorldTour stage win.

As I crossed the line, I still had no idea who won. As I talked to our team doctor about the directions to get to our hotel, I heard the announcer yell Lucas’ name and turned around to see him popping a big champagne bottle on the podium. A pleasant surprise after another hard day. It felt good to be part of a team win and nice to see Lucas continue to develop. He’s managed to hang onto that killer instinct needed to win as he’s transitioned from U23, something that very few young riders get right.

Stage 5 is the most demanding day of the race, with a massive climbing load and a summit finish. With three guys in the top 10 GC, we are in a good place.

Images: Getty Images