ROME 18 March 2021: Tadej Pogacar put in a confident display to close out his victory in Tirreno-Adriatico.
Having claimed a solo win at Prati di Tivo on stage 4 and taking the blue leaders jersey, the 22 year old put in a strong defense to extend his overall lead on stage 5.
With a buffer of 1’15’’ over his nearest rival Wout Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) coming into the final day, the Slovenian time-trial champion knew he had to do a good performance to keep the lead on the 10km course around San Benedetto del Tronto.
The stage honors went to Van Aert with Pogacar coming in 4th, 12″ behind the winner.
Along with the overall, Pogacar also takes the mountains classification and the award for the best young rider.
The win at Tirreno-Adriatico adds to Pogacar’s blistering start to the season: starting with his win at UAE Tour, where the squad also claimed the team classification. Pogacar will now take a short break before taking aim at the Tour of the Basque Country and the Ardennes classics.
Pogacar said: “It’s been a hard week of racing. This is one of the most prestigious one-week races so I’m really happy to get the win. I felt the hard week in the legs today but I’m happy with my ride. Now I’ll take a rest and build up towards Basque Country.”
