BORA – ARGON 18 wasn’t part of today’s stage decision at Tirreno-Adriatico. After 203 kilometers Greg van Avermaet (BMC) prevailed in a difficult finale. With his stage victory van Avermaet also took over the lead in the general classification. Peter Sagan (Tinkoff-Saxo) and Zdenek Stybar (Etixx-Quick Step) finished the stage on the podium. BORA - ARGON 18 climbing specialist Jose Mendes finished with the first group, so he didn’t lose any time in the GC before the two upcoming deciding stages.

“It’s a pity that we weren’t part of the break-way today. Since it was the first attack that went clear, it would have been rather easy to be in there. But this can happen. The laps in the finale were really tough. Sam felt good yesterday and he wanted to sprint today again. But during the laps he realized that it wouldn’t be enough to score a result against these top classic riders who lined-up here. In the end, we are happy that Jose finished the stage without losing any time to the favorites. This is a good foundation for the next two days”, BORA – ARGON 18 Sport Director Enrico Poitschke said after the stage.

With 226 kilometers, tomorrow’s stage is the longest one of the Italian race. The stage includes the climb up to the Poggio San Romualdo in the second half of the day. This climb over almost 11 kilometers and with a maximum incline of 11% is expected to cause a pre-selection not only for the stage but also the general classification of the race.