Filippo Ganna left no room for rivals in the opening time trial of the 61st Tirreno-Adriatico. At Lido di Camaiore, the usual venue for the first time trial stage of the Race of the Two Seas, the Verbano-born rider from INEOS Grenadiers annihilated the competition by covering the 11.5 kilometers on the program at an average speed of 56.858 km/h, a new record for the Race of the Two Seas (the Italian champion had already set the three highest average speeds in the race's history: 56.636 at San Benedetto del Tronto in 2020, 56.174 last year at Lido di Camaiore, and 55.348 in 2023 also in the Tuscan locality).
Closing his effort with a time of 12'08", the Italian champion of the discipline preceded his teammate Thymen Arensman and Max Walscheid (Lidl-Trek) by 22 and 26 seconds respectively, his first pursuers also in the general classification where, in addition to the first blue jersey of the twenty-nine-year-old Piedmontese rider, the 7th place of Primoz Roglic (Red Bull BORA hansgrohe) and the 9th of Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain-Victorious) are noteworthy, both authors of a brilliant performance that made them, behind Arensman, the best-placed big names in the standings at the end of today's stage.
Behind them, Isaac Del Toro (10th at 36 seconds from Ganna) and an excellent Giulio Pellizzari (12th at 37" from the day's winner) also provided convincing signals, while from Matteo Jorgenson (16th with a deficit of 44") downward, the other contenders for the final victory all, some more and some less, accumulated a more substantial gap. This is the case with Jai Hindley (23rd at 49 seconds), Giulio Ciccone (31st at 54"), Michael Storer (33rd at 55"), Richard Carapaz (73rd at 1'16"), the ailing Lennert van Eetvelt (123rd at 1'39"), and Tobias Halland Johannessen (54th at 1'47") who, in the coming days, will have to try to step up their game to trim the gap accumulated during today's stage.
A stage that, returning to those who forcefully grabbed the spotlight, favored INEOS Grenadiers (able to place three of its men in the top four positions) and, in particular, a Filippo Ganna who, in addition to securing his second seasonal success after the victory obtained (also in a time trial) at the Volta ao Algarve, has brought his tally of stages won at the Tirreno-Adriatico to five, crafting what is the new fastest time trial ever in the history of the Italian race.
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FINISHING ORDER
1. Filippo Ganna (ITA/INEOS Grenadiers) - 12:08
2. Thymen Arensman (NED/INEOS Grenadiers) at 0:22
3. Maximilian Walscheid (GER/Lidl-Trek) at 0:26
4. Magnus Sheffield (USA/INEOS Grenadiers) at 0:26
5. Jonathan Milan (ITA/Lidl-Trek) at 0:29
6. Alan Hatherly (RSA/Jayco-AlUla) at 0:30
7. Primoz Roglic (SLO/Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) at 0:31
8. Ethan Hayter (GBR/Soudal Quick-Step) at 0:32
9. Antonio Tiberi (ITA/Bahrain-Victorious) at 0:33
10. Isaac del Toro (MEX/UAE Team Emirates-XRG) at 0:36
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
1. Filippo Ganna (ITA/INEOS Grenadiers) - 12:08
2. Thymen Arensman (NED/INEOS Grenadiers) at 0:22
3. Maximilian Walscheid (GER/Lidl-Trek) at 0:26
4. Magnus Sheffield (USA/INEOS Grenadiers) at 0:26
5. Jonathan Milan (ITA/Lidl-Trek) at 0:29
6. Alan Hatherly (RSA/Jayco-AlUla) at 0:30
7. Primoz Roglic (SLO/Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) at 0:31
8. Ethan Hayter (GBR/Soudal Quick-Step) at 0:32
9. Antonio Tiberi (ITA/Bahrain-Victorious) at 0:33
10. Isaac del Toro (MEX/UAE Team Emirates-XRG) at 0:36
OTHER CLASSIFICATIONS
Points classification: Filippo Ganna (ITA/INEOS Grenadiers)
Best young rider classification: Magnus Sheffield (USA/INEOS Grenadiers)
Team classification: INEOS Grenadiers