2022 Tirreno – Adriatico: Stage 3 Results

Caleb Ewan claimed his first-ever Tirreno – Adriatico victory in a highly contested bunch sprint in which he pipped Frenchman Arnaud Démare right before the finishing line. The Australian is in great form before Milano-Sanremo. Young Dutchman Olav Kooij made the top 3 for the second day in a row. Beforehand, Tadej Pogacar rode away from the peloton along with team-mate Marc Soler and world champion Julian Alaphilippe to gain three more seconds in the intermediate sprint 27km before the end. They stayed away until 10km go. Pogacar and runner up Remco Evenepoel are expected to deliver a thrilling duel up the final hill at Bellante on Stage 4.

“Milano-Sanremo is usually my first big goal of the season and I know that climbing is something I have to work on if I want to get to the finish, so over the winter I’ve worked on my climbing a lot,” said Ewan at the post-race press conference. “Maybe I sacrificed my sprint a little bit for it but it’s one race I really want to win in my career, that’s why my form is good now and it enabled me to win today. But we never know what Pogacar wants to do. If he makes it very hard, it’s out of my control.”

The Maglia Azzurra Filippo Ganna said: “I’ve tried to stay upfront until 1.5km to go but it’s not always simple to manage to bring Elia [Viviani] in the best conditions. Ben [Swift] was with us but we didn’t want to risk our lives for a bunch sprint, however we’ll try again. Today we’ve seen that the strategy of UAE Team Emirates was to gain three more seconds [at the intermediate sprint] before the climbers’ stages. The finish tomorrow will make it a very hard stage. We’ll see if I lose the jersey or not.”

The win is the first for Caleb Ewan at Tirreno-Adriatico. He’s the eighth Australian stage winner at the Race of the Two Seas after Phil Anderson (1988), Michael Wilson (1989), Robbie McEwen (2007), Cadel Evans (2011, plus GC), Matt Goss (2013), Rohan Dennis (2017 and 2018) and Lucas Hamilton (2020).

Arnaud Démare is yet to win a stage at Tirreno-Adriatico but this is his second top 3 after he finished second to Matteo Pelucchi at Cascina in 2014.

2022 Tirreno – Adriatico: Stage 3 Brief Results

1. Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal) – 170 km in 4h07’24”, average speed 41.229 km/h
2. Arnaud Demare (Groupama – FDJ) st.
3. Olav Kooij (Jumbo-Visma) st.

General Classification After Stage 3:

1. Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers)
2. Remco Evenepoel (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team) at 11″
3. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) at 14″

Jerseys/Classifications:

• Maglia Azzurra (blue), General Classification Leader, sponsored by ENIT – Agenzia Nazionale del Turismo – Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers)
• Maglia Ciclamino (cyclamen), General Individual Classification by Points Leader, sponsored by Made in Italy – Tim Merlier (Alpecin-Fenix)
• Maglia Verde (green), King of the Mountains Classification Leader, sponsored by Trenitalia – Davide Bais (Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team)
• Maglia Bianca (white), Young Rider General Classification Leader, born after 1 January 1997, sponsored by Wurth Modyf – Remco Evenepoel (Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team)

Tomorrow’s Stage: CASCATA DELLE MARMORE – BELLANTE, 202KM

A stage that crosses the Apennines. From the Marmore Falls, the route climbs more or less continuously with reasonably gentle gradients to the Torre Fuscello pass before reaching Leonessa and taking the Via Salaria to Posta. After a brief ascent, the Via Salaria winds gently downhill until it reaches Ascoli Piceno. A short climb to Maltignano follows, before entering the final circuit to be ridden twice after the first passage of the finish line.

The final kilometers take place on the circuit, along two complete laps. After Bellante, the riders will head downhill, with ups and downs to Sant’Onofrio where the road becomes wider and straighter. The road heads first towards the valley then parallel to the river before tackling the climb of about 3.8km that leads to the finish. Gradients here are in the region of 7% with peaks of 11%. Arrival on 7m wide tarmac.