It has been 5 years since Mathieu Van der Poel last made his mark at Tirreno Adriatico. It was 2021 and the Dutch champion had won the fifth stage in Castelfidardo, beating a very young Tadej Pogacar. This time there is no Slovenian to worry Van der Poel as much as his teammate Isaac del Toro, who today, along with Giulio Pellizzari, proved to be an opponent not easy to leave behind.

«It wasn't easy to beat Del Toro and Pellizzari, they are young riders with incredible talent. It was a very complicated race, especially in the last half hour, the terrain was slippery and didn't allow you to push hard on the pedals. Even the sprint was demanding, on the cobblestones of the final meters it wasn't easy to stay on your feet. My objective was to race hard and I'm happy I managed to do it» said the Dutch champion, who was involved in a very tight sprint with the two young riders Del Toro and Pellizzari. The Mexican had tried several times to make things difficult for him precisely during the gravel section, making him waste a lot of energy.

Van der Poel tried to make a selection from the start by attacking on the long gravel stretch in the wake of Julian Alaphilippe. The 5.4 km section was made even more complicated by the rain, but it wasn't enough for the Dutchman to put Pellizzari and Del Toro out of the game, who proved to be particularly skilled on this type of terrain. «I didn't do a course reconnaissance, I only studied it online and so I only discovered it once in the race - Van der Poel continued. I knew the gravel section was very complicated, especially in the first part, and so as soon as Alaphilippe accelerated, I followed him, I didn't want to fall behind. There were many technical curves that could make the difference, made even more challenging by the puddles. At one point, on a curve, I touched Del Toro, fortunately I managed to stay on my feet but then I wasted a lot of energy trying to close the small gap. I can say it was a truly very hard day.»

For Mathieu Van der Poel this is his second victory of 2026 in just three days of racing. The Dutchman presented himself at Tirreno Adriatico not only to try to win a stage, but above all to find his best form ahead of the Milan-San Remo, which will be held in exactly 11 days.