The Colombian and Sagan’s sprint battle heads to Milano-Sanremo. Quintana retains the Maglia Azzurra. The final ITT is tomorrow.

Civitanova Marche, 13 March 2017 – Fernando Gaviria (Quick-Step Floors) outsprinted Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) to claim victory in stage 6 of the 2017 Tirreno-Adriatico at Civitanova Marche. It was his first stage win after he missed out on stage 3 due to being involved in a crash. It was a narrow margin following a race finale marred by several attacks in true classics style. Nairo Quintana (Movistar Team) remains in the overall lead ahead of the closing individual time trial in San Benedetto del Tronto.

Tomorrow, last stage of the race, the 10km Individual Time Trial at San Benedetto del Tronto. The first rider, Matteo Pelucchi (Bora-Hansgrohe), will start at 13.05. The last rider, the Maglia Azzurra Nairo Quintana (Movistar Team), will start at 15.58.

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 6 Results
Stage 6 Photo Gallery
Stage 7 – ITT Start Order
STAGE RESULT
1 – Fernando Gaviria (Quick-Step Floors) 168km in 4’09’31”, average speed 40.398kph
2 – Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) s.t.
3 – Jasper Stuyven (Trek – Segafredo) s.t.

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
1 – Nairo Quintana (Movistar Team)
2 – Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) at 50″
3 – Rohan Dennis (BMC Racing Team) at 1’06“

JERSEYS

Maglia Azzurra (blue), general classification leader, sponsored by NamedSport – Nairo Quintana (Movistar Team)
Maglia Rossa (red), sprinter classification leader, sponsored by FSA – Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe)
Maglia Verde (green), King of the Mountains classification leader, sponsored by Snello Rovagnati – Davide Ballerini (Androni Giocattoli)
Maglia Bianca (white), young rider general classification leader, sponsored by Selle Italia – Egan Bernal (Androni Giocattoli)

PRESS CONFERENCE
The stage winner Fernando Gaviria said: “It was a complicated and dangerous sprint. It was difficult for a single team to organize a train but we managed to win and we’re happy. I knew I had put my front wheel before Peter Sagan on the finishing line but I went to him afterwards to apologize for not giving him turns earlier on when we rode away – I couldn’t because my team-mate Niki Terpstra was at the front. Milan-Sanremo will be another story, after 290km of racing. Sagan might as well go solo on the Poggio and not be caught. I heard this race is a lottery but if someone [Eddy Merckx] has won it seven times, it can’t be a lottery. I’ll play my cards, hoping for the best.”

Peter Sagan, second today, said: „I’m not angry for losing today. I’m happy with how I’ve gone at Tirreno-Adriatico until now. Today’s finale was a bit complicated with a small downhill and riders away. It wasn’t a standard sprint. Gaviria will be one of my important rivals for Milan-Sanremo but there’ll be many more. It’s always an unpredictable race.“

The Maglia Azzurra, Nairo Quintana said: “My team rode at the front in the finale in order to avoid any danger. Tomorrow it’s going to be an important test for me against the clock and I hope for the best outcome. I’m not at 100% capacity yet, I’m still missing some part of my preparation for the Giro. I also don’t think that I’ve reached my best sporting level yet. I physically improve every year. It’s interesting to see a Colombian sprinter like Fernando Gaviria coming up – he has a track background. Races in Colombia used to all finish uphill but times have changed. The new generation is producing different types of riders. I didn’t know Egan Bernal before this race. I spoke with him two days ago. He’s very young. He came in the pro ranks as a kid. He’s got class and the legs to succeed.”

STATISTICS
Only three riders have won two stages at Tirreno-Adriatico before reaching the age of 23: Giuseppe Saronni (one stage in each of 1978, 1979 and 1980), Moreno Argentin (two stages in 1983), and now Fernando Gaviria (one stage in each of 2016 and 2017).

Fernando Gaviria denied Peter Sagan his third stage victory in this edition of Tirreno-Adriatico. The last rider to win three stages in the same year was Oscar Freire in 2008.

TOMORROW’S STAGE
Stage 7 – San Benedetto del Tronto (Individual Time Trial), 10km
Start Meeting Point: Molo Sud, Via Tamerici, San Benedetto del Tronto – 12.00
First rider’s start: 13.05
Time Keeping Point: km 4.4 – Porto d’Ascoli, Piazza D’Acquisto, Via S. Giacomo
Finish: Viale Bruno Buozzi, San Benedetto del Tronto
Last rider’s finish: 16.15
Race Headquarters: Hotel Calabresi, Rotonda Giorgini, San Benedetto del Tronto

ROUTE
This 10,050m Individual Time Trial closely follows the final circuit route of the concluding stages of the late 90s and recent 2000s editions – and the same as raced in 2015. The start ramp is located in Viale Tamerici (south wharf). From here, riders head towards Porto d’Ascoli along the sea. From Piazza Salvo d’Acquisto – site of the intermediate time split, at km 4.7 – the course runs a further 750m before heading back towards San Benedetto del Tronto, where the race ends on the traditional home stretch in Viale Buozzi. The last 2.5km are on almost straight ground.

Final kilometres
The last 3km are on wide and mainly straight roads. The route runs along the seafront where, 2.5km before the finish, a double bend leads to the straight home stretch which is on an 8m wide tarmac road.

POINTS OF INTEREST
SAN BENEDETTO DEL TRONTO
The tourist destination of San Benedetto del Tronto is the “queen of tourism in the Marche region” and one of the most important cities on the Adriatic coast. It is famous all over the world thanks to its sea front – 30 metres wide and one of the most majestic in Italy – and the mountains that surround and “protect” it (from the Vettore, to the Gran Sasso d’Italia and the Maiella) and which characterize the panorama.
Of Roman origin, for so long contested between Ascoli and Fermo, plagued by raids and devastation, San Benedetto saw great expansion from the second half of the 19th century onward. The turning point came with the construction of the Adriatic railway line, the prelude to the opening of the first beaches at the end of the century. Since then, San Benedetto del Tronto (the complete name approved by Royal Decree in 1896) has grown around its sea which is a source of both economic and cultural wealth. The Museum of Seafaring Civilizations of the Marche has recently opened and, alongside the Museum of Amphoras and the Caprotti Fish Museum, completes the “Museum Pole of the Sea”, in the port.
The cuisine is based on fish, its dishes including the famous brodetto (a fish soup with bell peppers and vinegar), to be served with the local wines (Falerio dei Colli, Offida and Rosso Piceno, the Superiore variant being excellent with meat). San Benedetto del Tronto has hosted the finish of the Tirreno-Adriatico NamedSport without interruption since its second edition, contested in 1967.

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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