Diego Ulissi proved that he is more than just a one-day specialist when he finished 16th on the flat power course in today's Tirreno-Adriatico time trial. The performance was enough to move him from 13th to 11th to save Lampre-Merida's race that had been hampered by the withdrawal of Chris Horner and Sacha Modolo's crash in yesterday's stage.

Alberto Contador was widely tipped to be the GC contender who performed best in today's Tirreno-Adriatico time trial but the rider to take the honour was instead Diego Ulissi who mixed it up with the powerful specialists to take an excellent 16th. The result was enough to move him fro 13th to 11th in the final standings.

The result partly saved the race for Lampre-Merida who had lined up most of their A team for the race. WIth Chris Horner and Damiano Cunego also on hand, the team had a three-pronged GC strategy while Sacha Modolo would target success in the sprints.

Cunego never found his best legs and Horner was forced out of the race with tendonitis, leaving it to Ulissi to defend the team's chances in the overall standings. Modolo had bad luck in the sprints as he crashed in the hectic finale of yesterday's stage.

"We had an unfortunate Tirreno-Adriatico with crashes and physical problems but it ended with a great Ulissi who delivered a splendid time trial performance time trial," sports director Orlando Maini said. "Especially in the second part of the route, Diego showed a growing trend, with the Merida Warp TT bike and his strong legs both paying dividends.

"It's a pity we missed the top 10 but it is a result of great honour as is his second place in the youth classification [behind Nairo Quintana]