Nairo Quintana takes a solo victory, replicating his victory from two years earlier, and wears the Maglia Azzurra. Tomorrow’s stage honours areas hit by the earthquakes in central Italy.

(Campoforogna), 11 March 2017 – Nairo Quintana won the queen stage of Tirreno-Adriatico atop the Monte Terminillo as he did two years ago. He soloed from 2km before the top and secured an advantage in the overall leadership of more than 30 seconds over Adam Yates (Orica-Scott) and 56 over Thibaut Pinot (FDJ). Wearing the Maglia Azzurra of race leader, the Colombian, along with the rest of the peloton will pay a tribute to the victims of the earthquake on stage 5 tomorrow in the centre of Italy.

VELON DATA
Data collected by Velon’s devices on the riders’ bikes tell the detailed story of the stage: Data and an explanation guide can be downloaded here.

Stage 4 Results
Stage 4 Photo Gallery
Tirreno-Adriatico NamedSport 2017 Roadbook
Tirreno-Adriatico NamedSport 2017 Maps

STAGE RESULT
1 – Nairo Quintana (Movistar Team) 187km in 5’27’22”, average speed 34.273kph
2 – Geraint Thomas (Team Sky) at 18″
3 – Adam Yates (Orica – Scott) at 24″

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
1 – Nairo Quintana (Movistar Team)
2 – Adam Yates (Orica – Scott) at 33″
3 – Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) at 56″

JERSEYS

Maglia Azzurra (blue), general classification leader, sponsored by NamedSport – Nairo Quintana (Movistar Team)
Maglia Rossa (red), sprinter classification leader, sponsored by FSA – Mirco Maestri (Bardiani CSF)
Maglia Verde (green), King of the Mountains classification leader, sponsored by Snello Rovagnati – Nairo Quintana (Movistar Team) – will be worn tomorrow by Davide Ballerini (Androni Giocattoli), second in the KOM classification
Maglia Bianca (white), young rider general classification leader, sponsored by Selle Italia – Adam Yates (Orica – Scott)

Ambassador in Italia, Juan Mesa Zuleta, awards Nairo Quintana with the Maglia Azzurra

PRESS CONFERENCE

The stage winner and new Maglia Azzura Nairo Quintana said: “I had flu some days ago, so I remained cautious in the way I raced today. It went according to plan with all my team-mates escorting me to the bottom of the Terminillo. [Jonathan] Castroviejo managed to anticipate my action while Andrey [Amador] and Dani [Moreno] stayed with me until I attacked. The race isn’t over. I believe tomorrow’s stage is harder than today’s. I’d like to start the final time trial with the advantage I have now on GC. Tomorrow we’ll pay tribute to the victims of the earthquake. Riding on those roads with the Maglia Azzurra will be my way to give some joy to the people who have been affected. We’ll be there for them forever.”

STATISTICS
Colombian riders have a total of three stage victories in the history of Tirreno-Adriatico, one in each of the last three editions: in 2015 with Nairo Quintana on the Terminillo, in 2016 with Fernando Gaviria at Montalto di Castro, in 2017 again with Quintana on the Terminillo.

Since Tirreno-Adriatico has been featuring big climbs, only Grand Tour winners have claimed those stage victories: Vincenzo Nibali at Prati di Tivo in 2012, Chris Froome at Prati di Tivo in 2013, Alberto Contador at Cittareale in 2014, and Nairo Quintana at the Terminillo in 2015 and 2017.

TOMORROW’S STAGE
Tomorrow’s stage will be a special one. The race will pass by many of the places hit by the recent earthquakes in central Italy. The Tirreno-Adriatico embraces all the people affected by this tragedy, as will the Giro d’Italia in May.

Stage 5 – Rieti – Fermo, 210km
Start Meeting Point: Piazza C. Battisti, Rieti
Sign-on procedures: 09.35 – 10.45
Alignment: 10.50
Start – KM 0: 11.05 (transfer 7,000m)
Finish: Piazzale del Girfalco, Fermo – 16.15 Approx.
Race Headquarters: Palestra Leti, Via Leti, Fermo

ROUTE
This will be a “wall climbing” stage, consisting of two separate parts. The first one runs through the Apennines, nearly up to the province of Fermo; the second one, approaching the finish and the final circuit, is wavier and more demanding, with seven steep climbs (“muri”). The route initially follows the Via Salaria, up to the Torretta pass, almost reaching Ascoli Piceno and heading towards the province of Fermo, rolling through a few side-valleys. The course runs past Venarotta (intermediate sprint), Montelparo (cat. climb) and Grottazzolina (intermediate sprint). The race takes a first pass around Fermo to clear the Capodarco categorised climb and, shortly after, the Fermo-Reputolo ascent, and then passes near the finish line. Here, the route follows a near-circle, covering around 22km, featuring two tricky climbs: Madonnetta d’Ete and Fermo-Reputolo, again.

Final kilometres
The final kilometres run almost entirely uphill. The Reputolo climb (max gradient 22%) leads to urban Fermo; from here on, the route goes up steadily along the narrow and porphyry-paved city roads, at times with steep gradients. After a short descent 750m before the finish, the route ramps up again with gradients approaching 10% until the finish line, on a 6m-wide asphalt road.

POINTS OF INTEREST
RIETI
The origins of the city Rieti, founded by the Sabines, a population from central Italy, are older than those of Rome; after numerous conflicts with the Romans, the city was subjugated to Rome in 290BC.
The walls of the Roman period have almost all disappeared, while their majestic medieval replacements are well preserved. The religious architecture in the city is remarkable, including two of the four Franciscan sanctuaries, which make the city a destination for religious tourism. The Basilica Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta – Romanesque outside, Baroque inside – with the bell tower and the baptistery, is also very important. Among the non-religious architecture, the remains of the Roman Bridge and the Bishops’ Palace stand out, while the Palazzo Vicentini was built during the Renaissance.
This stage finish of the 2017 Tirreno-Adriatico NamedSport is not only a city of history but also a city of sport with a strong bond with the Giro d’Italia, having hosted 20 stages. It also boasts a strong tradition in athletics, basketball and rugby as well as winter sports thanks to its proximity to Mount Terminillo. There are many sports centres including where the light athletics champion Andre Hoewe and the basketball player Kobe Bryant, amongst others, have trained.

FERMO
This stage city of the Tirreno-Adriatico NamedSport 2017, is the eponymous capital of the province in the Marche region. The historical part of the city still preserves its purely medieval appearance and huddles around the Sabulo hill, on the top of which lies the Cathedral of Fermo in a Romanesque-Gothic style, with the panoramic Piazzale del Girfalco in front. Archaeological excavations have dated the birth of the city to much earlier than the Middle Ages, with Roman findings, as well as the famous Roman Cisterns, still in a perfect state of preservation and open for visits. The oldest findings date back to the 9th century BC. The town’s feast-day corresponds to the religious festivity of the Assumption, on 15th August. In the past, it was celebrated with a Palio, but today is celebrated in a modern way with a ride through the streets of the city. Lastly, Piazza del Popolo, known as the city’s drawing room, with the Palazzo dei Priori, the town hall, and the city’s art gallery, also not to be missed.

TV COVERAGE
The 52nd Tirreno-Adriatico NamedSport will be broadcast in 184 countries right across the five continents. The 2017 edition of the race will be shown live by 13 TV networks.
RAI, the WorldTour event’s host broadcaster, will produce three hours of live coverage of the race, broadcasting it in Italy on Rai Sport + HD, with the final part of each stage live also on Rai 3. Eurosport will show the “Race of the Two Seas” live throughout the whole of Europe, with the exception of France where l’Equipe will air the event race on its free-to-air channel.
Eurosport will also broadcast the race in 16 territories across the Asia Pacific region, while in Japan the exclusive live broadcast is on DAZN. In New Zealand the Tirreno-Adriatico NamedSport will be broadcast exclusively on Sky Sports.
OSN network is the right holders for the Middle East and Africa regions, while Kwese Sport will cover the SubSaharian Africa territories with the sole exception of South Africa, where the race will be broadcast live on Supersport.
The 2017 Tirreno-Adriatico NamedSport can be followed in the Americas on Fubo.TV in USA and Canada, on TDN in Mexico and Central America and on the ESPN network in South America and the Caribbeans.
SNTV – the Sports News Television platform will distribute images from the race all over the world.

LIVE TWEETS
You can follow Tirreno-Adriatico NamedSport daily with a Twitter feed bringing all the news directly from the race, by following the official Twitter account @TirrenAdriatico – and use the hashtag #Tirreno to send your comments live.

Photo credits: LaPresse – D’Alberto / Ferrari

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