Cycling news - Jumbo-Visma's Wout van Aert triumphs in first stage of Tirreno-Adriatico

ByEnis Koylu

Updated 10/03/2021 at 17:28 GMT

Wout van Aert of Jumbo-Visma has claimed his first win of the year, with a sprint finish helping him to stage one victory in the Tirreno-Adriatico. Caleb Ewan (Lotto-Soudal) finished second, with Fenrando Gaviria third after a hectic sprint finish of a course starting and ending in Lido di Camaiore.

Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) has emerged victorious in the first stage of the 2021 Tirreno-Adriatico, holding off the likes of Caleb Ewan and Fernando Gaviria in a sprint finish.

The Belgian had a meagre start to his 2021 season at the Strade Bianche, finishing fourth as he sought to defend his title, with Mathieu van der Poel claiming the crown.

But he was back to his best as the seven-stage race kicked off with a 156km course starting and finishing in Lido di Camaiore and is already thinking about winning the general classification.

Cycling

Van Aert 'happy to be back training outside' just four weeks after horror crash

23/04/2024 at 18:59

"The final straight was really long, so today it was all about the right timing," he said after the stage win.

• PARIS-NICE CYCLING – PRIMOZ ROGLIC SOARS TO SEIZE OVERALL LEAD AS TAO GEOGHEGAN HART CRASHES OUT

"I had high speed and so when I saw the 200m sign and maybe a bit before, I thought not to wait and I launched my sprint. I had the speed to maintain it to the finish. I’m really happy," Van Aert said.

"For sure, I think today and at Strade Bianche we saw a strong (Jumbo-Visma) team. We’re in high spirits and big motivation for this week; starting with a win is perfect for the GC. We’ll see what the next stages bring but we’ve already achieved one goal today."

Ewan was his nearest challenger, but the Lotto-Soudal man timed his late sprint just too late to take the stage win off Van Aert's hands.

'What about that!' - Wout van Aert takes opening stage of Tirreno - Adriatico

STAGE ONE RESULTS

Position	Name	Team	Time
1	Wout van Aert	Jumbo-Visma	3:36:17
2	Caleb Ewan	Lotto Soudal
3	Fernando Garivia	UAE Team Emirates
4	Andrea Vendrame	Citroen Team
5	Luka Mezgec	Team BikeExchange
6	Tim Merlier	Alpecin-Fenix
7	Alvaro Hodeg Chagui	Deceuninck-QuickStep
8	Davide Ballerini	Deceuninck-QuickStep
9	Ivan Garcia Cortina	Movistar Team
10	Hugo Hofstetter	Israel Start-Up Nation

Giro d'Italia

'I cannot train at all' - Injured Van Aert withdraws from Giro d’Italia

11/04/2024 at 14:29

Paris - Roubaix Men

Vingegaard 'a little bit better every day,' says Visma boss, also issues Van Aert update

07/04/2024 at 12:49

Cycling

Zeeman to step down as Team Visma Lease-a-Bike sporting director

03/04/2024 at 16:43