Tobias Lund Andresen (Decathlon-CMA CGM) sprinted to victory in a rain-drenched third stage of Tirreno-Adriatico this afternoon.
The Dane was chased to the line by Arnaud de Lie (Lotto Intermarché) and Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Premier Tech) in a race that exploded in the last kilometre into Magliano de’Marsi.
"My plan was to do a long sprint," Lund Andresen said after the race. "Everyone has cold legs and we basically had it pretty easy in the last bit. [In] a long sprint, normally everyone can do the same when you're really cold. So, I just wanted to be there first."
"It's one of the biggest races of the year, so to take a win here is amazing," Lund continued.
"It's been unbelievable so far. I probably didn't even believe myself that I could take such a big step this year, but it just keeps on giving and my team is so amazing."
At 225km long, the race from Cortona was the longest stage in the Tirreno-Adriatico, and marked by two significant features: a 2.3km climb at Todi and an intermediate sprint at Casette.
Diego Pablo Sevilla (Polti VisitMalta) took the early climb points, with Danny van Poppel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) gaining an additional five points as the first rider across the intermediate sprint in the lashing rain.
An attack within the final 25 kilometres briefly set Jonas Abrahamsen (Uno-X Mobility), Ethan Hayter (Soudal Quick-Step) and Liam Slock (Lotto Intermarché) at the front of the pack, though their lead didn't last.
It was, in the end, a battle between Lidl-Trek and Decathlon CMA CGM. After a failed attack by Lidl-Trek's Tord Gudmestad and Jonathan Milan, Lund Andresen sprinted to take the stage win in Italy, and his third win of the season.
Isaac del Toro (UAE Emirates XRG) remains the general classification leader.
Results
Tirreno-Adriatico, Stage 3: Cortona > Magliano de' Marsi, 221km
1. Tobias Lund Andersen (Den), Decathlon CMA CGM, in a time of 5:29:22
2. Arnaud de Lie (Bel), Lotto Intermarché, at same time
3. Jasper Philipsen (Bel), Alpecin-Premier Tech, ast
4. Paul Magnier (Fra), Soudal Quick-Step, ast
5. Iván García Cortina (Esp), Movistar, ast
6. Sam Welsford (Aus), Ineos Grenadiers, ast
7. Jonathan Milan (Ita), Lidl-Trek, ast
8. Oded Kogut (Isr), NSN Cycling, ast
9. Madis Mihkels (Est), EF Education-EasyPost, ast
10. Pavel Bittner (Cze), Picnic PostNL, ast
General Classification after stage 3
1. Isaac del Toro (Mex), UAE Team Emirates - XRG in 10:35:22
2. Giulio Pelizzari (Ita), Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, +4s
3. Magnus Sheffield (USA), Ineos Grenadiers, +14
4. Alan Hatherly (RSA), Jayco AlUla, +18
5. Primož Roglič (Slo), Jayco AlUla, +19
6. Antonio Tiberi (Ita), Bahrain-Victorious, +21
7. Matteo Jorgenson (USA), Visma-Lease a Bike, +32
8. Javier Romo (Esp), Movistar, +35
9. Ben Healy (Ire), EF Education-EasyPost, +37
10. Santiago Buitrago (Col), Jayco AlUla, +38
