Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) opened his season tally on Tuesday afternoon, sprinting to victory on stage two of Tirreno-Adriatico.
The Belgian was one of the first riders through a sharp right-hand turn with 300m to go. He opened up his sprint shortly after, and won by a comfortable margin in Follonica ahead of Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step) and Axel Zingle (Cofidis).
Philipsen's victory came on only his fourth race day of 2024, one day earlier than he managed last season, when he went on to collect an astonishing 19 victories and the Tour de France green jersey.
"This time I'm really happy we could finish it off already today," the 26-year-old said afterwards. "It was, as always, really hectic in the final.
"I felt [Merlier] coming in the last corner and I knew I had to go and try to take his wheel. I had some shifting problems, so I was happy I could find the right gear and launch my sprint at the right moment."
This season, Philipsen is targeting a strong showing in the Spring Classics, having finished second at Paris-Roubaix last year.
"In general, sprinting is my talent," he said. "It's what I'm good at. The Classics, I have to work hard for to do a good job. It was a good chance today, and there are still some nice chances coming this week. We'll try to take the wins. For the confidence of the team, it's good to give the team a win."
Stage two began with a four-rider breakaway, which formed shortly after the flag drop in Camaiore. The most decorated among the escapees was Polti-Kometa’s Davide Bais, winner of a Giro d’Italia stage last year, who secured the king of the mountains jersey for stage three.
With 63km to go, Bais’s breakaway companion Jan Stöckli (Corratec - Vini Fantini) shot out of the quartet. The Swiss rider swept up the intermediate sprint points and went solo up the road, before the peloton came back together with 37km remaining.
The bunch's speed barely dropped below 50km/h heading into the finale in Follonica. The pace proved too much for Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazqstan), who struggled to rejoin the pack after a puncture with 18km to go.
Soudal Quick-Step and Uno-X led through a nerve-racking 90-degree bend with 300m to go, but Philipsen soon surged clear down the home straight. The Belgian, clad in denim print, had time to sit up and celebrate before crossing the line, such was the dominance of his sprint.
Juan Ayuso, winner of the time trial on stage one, continues to lead the race.
RESULTS: TIRRENO-ADRIATICO STAGE TWO, CAMAIORE > FOLLONICA (198KM)
1. Jasper Philipsen (Bel) Alpecin-Deceuninck, in 4-32-07
2. Tim Merlier (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step
3. Axel Zingle (Fra) Cofidis
4. Amaury Capiot (Bel) Arkéa - B&B Hotels
5. Casper van Uden (Ned) dsm-firmenich PostNL
6. Søren Wærenskjold (Nor) Uno-X
7. Giovanni Lonardi (Ita) Polti Kometa
8. Ethan Vernon (GBr) Israel-Premier Tech
9. Jonathan Milan (Ita) Lidl-Trek
10. Fabian Lienhard (Sui) Groupama-FDJ, all at same time
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION AFTER STAGE TWO
1. Juan Ayuso (Esp) UAE Team Emirates, in 4-43-31
2. Filippo Ganna (Ita) Ineos Grenadiers, +1sec
3. Jonathan Milan (Ita) Lidl-Trek, +12secs
4. Ethan Vernon (GBr) Israel-Premier Tech, +13secs
5. Søren Wærenskjold (Nor) Uno-X, +15secs
6. Antonio Tiberi (Ita) Bahrain-Victorious, +17secs
8. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Visma-Lease a Bike, +22secs
9. Roman Grégoire (Fra) Groupama-FDJ, at same time
10. Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) Q36.5 Pro Cycling, +23secs
