Tirreno-Adriatico 2021 news - Mathieu van der Poel wins Stage 5 despite Tadej Pogacar charge

ByEurosport

Updated 14/03/2021 at 16:03 GMT

After the 205km ride from Castellalto to Castelfidardo, Tadej Pogacar leads Wout Van Aert by 1:15 and Spain's Mikel Landa by 3:00 with 2019 Tour de France winner Egan Bernal in fourth place, 3:30 off the pace. Monday's sixth stage is a 169km ride from Castelraimondo to Lido di Fermo.

‘What an amazing rider!’ - Van der Poel holds on for solo stage win as Pogacar extends Tirreno lead

Mathieu van der Poel won Stage 5 of Tirreno-Adriatico (Alpecin-Fenix), attacking solo for the final 60km, but finished just ahead of race leader Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) in what commentator Carlton Kirby called an "amazing" finish to the race.

The 26-year-old took it in a time of 4:48:17 and was cruising comfortably for the majority of it, but the Tour de France champion continued to close what was a three-minute gap to set up a tense final kilometre.

Van der Poel appeared to be tiring in the final five kilometres, but the line was in sight and he held on to seal his second stage victory, 10 seconds ahead of Pogacar. He passed the finish line on the floor in a heap of exhaustion.

Liège - Bastogne - Liège Men

'I was quite emotional' – Pogacar dedicates win to fiancée's late mother

21/04/2024 at 17:42

However, for all the Slovenian's efforts he was unable to close down the Dutch rider having broken away from Marc Soler (WorldTeam Movistar) and Fabio Felline (Astana-Premier Tech).