Tyler Farrar finished fifth in the bunch sprint closing the second stage of Tirreno-Adriatico. A crash in the closing meters marred the finale, but Farrar was ahead of the scene. MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung worked hard to set up the sprint, leading the peloton into the final kilometer.

Tyler Farrar opened the sprint with 150 meters to go, but was overtaken by Jens Debusschere (Lotto Soudal) who took the win from of Peter Sagan (Tinkoff-Saxo) and Sam Bennet (Bora-Argon18).

A seven-man break group dominated the stage, escaping five kilometers into the day and staying away some 130 kilometers with a gap of up to six minutes. MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung was visible near the front in the closing 10 kilometers, moving to the front with four kilometers to go. The final 20 kilometers were marked by a series of crashes, fortunately without MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung participation.

“The team did really well today. I never experienced being lead-out by such experienced guys in my career, so I really have to thank all of them. I couldn't turn it into a win today but I am sure that this will come. It feels good to receive such a support and to be able to spread Qhubeka's message in this way,” Tyler Farrar said.

“I am very happy with how the team rode today. We did a very good lead out and were also lucky to avoid any crashes. Top5 is a good result considering that the team we have at Tirreno-Adriatico is racing together for the first time. It is convincing to see how they did and we look forward to the next stages,” Alex Sans Vega, SD of MTN-Qhubeka, said.