As expected, the race erupted at Tirreno-Adriatico Stage 5 on the final climb of Terminillo. As the race approached 5km to go, Gianluca Brambilla set the pace for the peloton, and Michele Scarponi (Astana) remained solo out of the original eight rider escape group.
Nairo Quintana (Movistar) saw the perfect moment to attack with about 4km to go in the race. He quickly dropped and passed Scarponi and went on to win the race solo.
Meanwhile, the select group full of GC contenders behind him launched attack after attack, which prevented them from catching back to Quintana. Bauke Mollema (Trek Factory Racing) distanced the other riders with about 3km to go in the race, finishing 2nd. Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) crossed in 3rd.
Rigoberto Uran was one of the riders in the select group, and while he was initially distanced by a chase group including Thibaut Pinot (FDJ.fr), Domenico Pozzovivo (AG2R - La Mondiale), Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo), and Adam Yates (Orica-GreenEDGE), he paced himself back to the group and finished 4th out of the group 55" down.
The arrival was not only steep, but covered in snow, as it was falling so heavily riders weren't clearly visible at the line.
Uran is now 3rd in the GC, 48" down on Quintana, who took the race lead from Wout Poels (Team Sky) with his solo victory.
"The queen stage today was difficult," Uran said. "I felt good on the last climb of Terminillo. The team did a great job, especially Gianluca who did a great job setting the tempo for me on the last climb. But when Quintana attacked I doubted a little bit because I thought it was still far from the finish line, especially with the strong headwind, and we still had a good group of riders behind, so I figured it was too early. At one point we were about 50 meters from him, but he accelerated again and there was nothing we could do. Quintana deserved the victory today as he did a good attack and he resisted, and he crossed the line with an advantage. So congratulations to him. Today was also difficult because of the weather conditions. The snow in the final made it hard to pedal, and there were some tricky corners in the last kilometers where we had to stay focused as it was slippery. If we had arrived a few minutes later it would have been even more difficult as it started snowing really heavy. I feel bad also for the gruppetto, as their later arrival was when the conditions were far worse. Our guys who crossed at that time were really shivering because of the snow and cold. But, fortunately, everyone on the team finished the race. Concerning me, I am happy with my result. If I compare my performance this year with last year at this time at Tirreno-Adriatico, I have to be satisfied. Last year I had some stomach problems that immediately put me out of contention. This year, without that kind of complication I showed I can be there to contest the stages and possibly the GC. Now I am 3rd overall, but I can count on the time trial in the final day to try to improve my classification. It won't be easy, as Mollema is a good time trialist and Quintana has almost a minute advantage. I have to be realistic, but in cycling you always have to try and see what may be the result."
"I'm happy with my performance," Brambilla said. "I did exactly what Rigo asked me to do. I stayed always near him and then when Tinkoff-Saxo stopped pulling I took the lead and set the tempo on the Terminillo climb. Then, when Quintana went I was on the front setting the tempo, and that is when the race exploded. So I rode at my own pace at that point and arrived at the finish line. I am happy to have been important for Uran as our leader, and it makes me proud about my job today that he is in position to finish Tirreno-Adriatico on the podium."
Etixx - Quick-Step looks next to 201km Stage 6.
Our team just sent us these finish line images at #tirreno. Incredible conditions! pic.twitter.com/XlZ4M31pmJ
— Etixx - Quick-Step (@Etixx_QuickStep) March 15, 2015
