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Philipsen beats elite sprint field at Tirreno
Belgian Jasper Philipsen started his sprint season in devastating form on Tuesday, leaving his rivals trailing in a bunch finish at Follonica in the second stage of the Tirreno-Adriatico.
With other top sprinters Mark Cavendish, Tim Merlier and Caleb Ewan in the field, a closer finale might have been expected, but the 26-year-old won by several bike lengths from Merlier.
Winner of the green sprint points jersey and four stages on the 2023 Tour de France, Philipsen will be the sprinter to beat on the Tour again this year.
👀 A very fast sprint in Follonica sees Jasper the Master win his first race of the season
— Tirreno Adriatico (@TirrenAdriatico) March 5, 2024
The ultimo kilometro ⤵️
🔱#TirrenoAdriatico pic.twitter.com/ZdaMgpxS1p
Fellow Belgian Merlier of Soudal Quick-Step ran out of juice after accelerating 300m from the line, while Eritrean allrounder Biniam Girmay took third place.
"I tried from too far, lost some speed on the inside of the corner so it was a bit too early," Merlier admitted.
Cavendish suffered a puncture and was not involved in the final reckoning.
Wednesday's third stage of the seven-stage race is a 220km run from Volterra to Gualdo Tadino with a slightly uphill finish.
STAGE TWO RESULTS:
1. UAE Team Emirates (UAE) UAE Team Emirates 31:23
2. Team Jayco - AlUla (AUS) Team Jayco - AlUla +15
3. EF Education - EasyPost EF Education - EasyPost +20 (USA)
4. Soudal - Quick-Step (BEL) Soudal - Quick-Step +22
5. INEOS Grenadiers (GBR) INEOS Grenadiers "
6. Team Visma - Lease a Bike Team Visma - Lease a Bike +38 (NED)
7. Astana - Qazaqstan Team Astana - Qazaqstan Team +39 (KAZ)
8. Decathlon - AG2R - La Decathlon - AG2R - La " Mondiale Team (FRA) Mondiale
9. Cofidis (FRA) Cofidis "
10. Bahrain Victorious (BRN) Bahrain Victorious +42
11. BORA - hansgrohe (GER) BORA - hansgrohe +54
12. Lotto - Dstny (BEL) Lotto - Dstny +58
13. TotalEnergies (FRA) TotalEnergies +1:00
14. Groupama - FDJ (FRA) Groupama - FDJ +1:01
15. Arkéa - B&B Hotels (FRA) Arkéa - B&B Hotels +1:12
16. Tudor Pro Cycling Team Tudor Pro Cycling Team "(SUI)
17. Lidl - Trek (USA) Lidl - Trek +1:15
18. Team dsm-firmenich - Team dsm-firmenich - +1:23 PostNL (NED) PostNL
19. Alpecin - Deceuninck (BEL) Alpecin - Deceuninck +1:24
20. Israel - Premier Tech Israel - Premier Tech +1:40 (ISR)
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