Tirreno–Adriatico - Stage 5

With massive elevation, summit finish, and another 200+ kilometers, we knew Stage 5 would be decisive in the GC battle at Tirreno.

The collective hesitation and intimidation initially moderated a nasty uphill start within the peloton. Soon, we eventually found ourselves sprinting over the top with guys going backward and the group going to pieces.

On the downhill, I was upfront and monitoring who was chasing and trying to attack when I came around a pot-holed corner at high speed and saw the guys immediately in front of me sliding into a pile on the ground. My brain slowed down those split seconds as I processed staying away from the ledge and dropping off to my left and riders bouncing off those on the ground to my right. With locked up brakes, I slid into the pile of bodies and landed on top as my bike flew up and over.

It’s a terrible feeling running into a pile of your peers, but I was grateful for the softened landing (thanks, Rohan!). A quick scan of my body and look to my bike told me both were still rideable but just barely. I got back on to stay moving as I awaited the car. Fortunately, the bunch slowed down before long, and I could do a bike change onto my spare bike. We settled in for a long day of undulating, up and down, and bouncing over the battered roads. The climbing came in small chunks of 1-5 km “hills,” but it was never flat. The nerves in the peloton ramped up as we entered the most technical and steep section and we battled to hold position with Simon up front just behind EF, who was doing a good job to control the breakaway's gap.

On days like these, it takes some big efforts to hold position at the front, sprinting over every climb. It begins to feel wasteful, but then you hear the carnage and yelling and brake squealing behind you, and you are reassured that it’s effort well spent. As we approached the final climb, Heppy began contributing to the chase. Bottle runs and bottle points on the roadside proved very influential as the day's heat and load became exponential in the fifth and sixth hours. What remained of the peloton battled into the final towns before the finishing climb. Cam and I worked to keep Simon well positioned. It was a relief to hit the base of the final climb and see Simon well-positioned with Lucas and Jack, knowing that my job was done and I could quickly catch my breath before slugging the last 10 km to the summit.

Up ahead, Simon sensed his moment and went for it. I could hear our director encouraging him over the radio. I think I began going even slower, feeling that a jersey defense would be coming. Winning two days in a row is rare and is a testament to the committed effort this group has put in over a tough five days. Now we have the confirmation that our leader is also the race leader and we will do everything.

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