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By
Enis Koylu
Updated 10/03/2021 at 17:28 GMT
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.
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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.
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"The final straight was really long, so today it was all about the right timing," he said after the stage win.
"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 |
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