The big fight is postponed to Saturday. Stage 5 of Tirreno-Adriatico didn’t create any proper damage on Friday, and the main peloton also didn’t manage to catch the last man from the breakaway, Fredrik Dversnes. Always up there with the best, Romain Grégoire took seventh place in the sprint and gained two places in the overall standings (8e) on the eve of the only summit finish of the race.
With 3,500 metres of elevation gain on the menu, stage 5 of Tirreno-Adriatico was, on paper, supposed to offer a first direct battle between the GC favourites. In a day that tallied more than two hundred kilometres, everything was expected to get clearer on the two climbs located in the last thirty kilometres. Six men from the morning breakaway were able to enter this “money time” with a three-minute gap over the peloton. “Today’s goal was to stay with Romain to put him in the best possible position for the final, which was well done,” explained Thierry. “The weather conditions influenced the entire stage. There was a lot of wind and strong gusts. It was tense, it could have been tricky, it added pressure to the peloton, and everyone was already a bit tired by the time we reached the finale.” After initial work by Clément Russo and Paul Penhoët, Romain Grégoire was positioned and supported on the penultimate climb by Lorenzo Germani, Quentin Pacher, and Valentin Madouas. “When you have a leader who’s up to the expectations since the start, it gives the team a good momentum, and everyone was ready to do his part,” claimed Thierry.
“Romain is still the mix,” Thierry Bricaud
After the first climb of the final, the peloton was reduced by half, then came the Monterolo climb (3.9 km at 6.6%) with thirteen kilometers to go. “It went up quite fast, and everyone more or less stayed in their place,” Thierry explained. “There weren’t any real differences between the top riders because everyone was almost on the limit, otherwise riders like Ayuso would have attacked. Finally, there were about fifteen at the top.” A member of this group of riders, Romain Grégoire held the wheels on the downhill and then remained careful when the attacks resumed in the final three kilometres. However, no one really broke away, nor did anyone really take control of the group. Therefore, Fredrik Dversnes, a member of the early breakaway, went on to claim victory, while a second bunch joined the first group of favorites in the final few hundred metres. “We didn’t know exactly how it would play out, but it wasn’t the kind of profile to create big gaps either,” Thierry said. “Plus, many guys probably had tomorrow’s stage in mind, which will offer a more suitable terrain for making differences.”On Friday, Romain Grégoire still secured a solid second place (7th) at the finish. “It was a day where we could have been caught out, and that didn’t happen,” Thierry said. “Ultimately, it’s not a bad day for Romain as he gained two places in the general classification. He’s still in the mix for tomorrow, and that’s the most important thing.” The climb of Frontignano (7.5 km at 8%) should therefore establish the final hierarchy of Tirreno-Adriatico on Saturday. “It’s a nice climb, but the race scenario may be unusual,” concluded Thierry. “If Ayuso or others want to win, they’ll have to make up a lot of time on Ganna, and that’s not a given. It won’t be particularly hard before the final climb, but it will still be challenging, and above all, they’ve just completed three days of racing with 5 to 6 hours of saddle. And that takes its toll”.
