Consonni places 10th in Tirreno-Adriatico sprint

In the Tirreno-Adriatico stage six finish to Jesi, Simone Consonni fought in the sprint to 10th. Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-Quick Step) got the jump on his pure sprinter rivals to win.

The UAE Team Emirates chose the Italian sprinter to lead the team in the sprint, considering that Fernando Gaviria had not felt at his best for the final kilometres.

“I wanted to make the most of today’s opportunity, but it was not a good sprint,” explained Consonni. “I found a good position for the sprint, I was behind Viviani’s wheel, but I could not find enough speed to achieve a better result than the 10th place.”

Gaviria explained why he gave sprint reins to Consonni, “Arriving near the final circuit, I realised that I wouldn’t have the right legs to make a high-level sprint, so I preferred to leave room for Consonni.

“I think today’s feelings are the result of the demanding stages over the past few days, in which I held on. I’m not worried about Milano-Sanremo, there are a couple of days to recover energy and focus on Saturday’s goal, for which I am confident and motivated.”

In the final 10km individual time trial in San Benedetto del Tronto tomorrow, Rui Costa will try to defend the 10th place in the overall standings (3’26” back from leader Adam Yates).
Polanc sits 14th at 4’18”.

Stage six results
1 Julian Alaphilippe (Fra) Deceuninck-Quick Step 4h42’11”
2 Davide Cimolai (Ita) Israel Cycling Academy s.t.
3 Elia Viviani (Ita) Deceuninck-Quick Step s.t.
10 Simone Consonni (Ita) UAE Team Emirates s.t.

General classification after stage 6
1 Adam Yates (Gbr) Mitchelton-Scott 25h15’59”
2 Primoz Roglic (Slo) Team Jumbo-Visma 25″
3 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana 35″
10 Rui Costa (Por) UAE Team Emirates 3’26”