The short second stage in the 2015 Tirreno–Adriatico saw a group go to the line for a mass sprint that included Team Katusha’s Aleksandr Porsev. A crash came close to the finish line and disrupted the sprint, but Porsev held on for a strong fourth place finish.

“The sprint was quite complicated because of the crash just before the finish. I am very sorry every time riders crash. In that moment I was forced to touch the brakes and to slow down, so I think without it I might have at least reached the podium. In general I felt quite good today and 4th place is a nice result at the start of such a race like Tirreno – Adriatico. The team supported me well today, especially Alexey and Luca, who helped me to find a good position before the sprint,” said Aleksandr Porsev.

DS Jose Azevedo was satisfied with the team following the plans made by the team before the stage.

“I was very happy to see the riders follow the plan today. Alexey Tsatevich and Luca Paolini pulled for Porsev and did a perfect job. It was only a bit of bad luck because of the crash that messed up the sprint in the end. But no excuses – we are satisfied with today’s performances,” said team director José Azevedo.

The bunch sprint was won by Belgian national champion Jens Debusschere of Lotto Soudal.  Second and third places went to Peter Sagan (Tinkoff-Saxo) and Bora-Argon’s Sam Bennett. The GC lead is currently held by Adriano Malori of Movistar.

Today’s stage was 153 km from Camaiore to Cascina. A group of six riders went clear for the break of the day and built a gap of more than six minutes. They were finally reeled back during the local circuits, setting up the group sprint for the finale.

There were other crashes in the stage from a nervous peloton. Joaquim Rodriquez was involved in one of them but fortunately he could come back to his group. There was bad luck for Daniel Moreno, however. He was hit in the back by others because of a sudden crash at 10 km to the finish. There was no way to come back for Moreno, putting him out of contention for the general classification.

Friday’s stage begins in Cascina and ends in Arezzo at 203 km. It should be another day for the sprinters in Tirreno – Adriatico.