Isaac Del Toro is set to win Tirreno-Ariatico after winning Saturday's penultimate stage and increasing his lead at the top of the general classification.
UAE rider Del Toro won his first stage in the "Race of the Two Seas" and moved 42 seconds in front of Giulio Pellizzari ahead of Sunday's finale, a charge to beachfront town San Benedetto del Tronto, which is set up for sprinters.
The 22-year-old made his move on the third and final climb to Camerino, which ended a punishing 189 kilometres of riding that featured 3 900 metres of elevation gain.
Pellizzari tried to wipe out the 23-second gap that separated him from Del Toro at the start of the day, attacking on the climactic climb which started 3km from the finish line.
But in the final 500 metres, he was dropped by Tobias Johannessen and Del Toro, the latter of whom surged to the line to effectively win his second stage race of 2026 after the UAE Tour last month.
Del Toro is on hot form, but he is still most famous for losing last year's Giro d'Italia on the penultimate day of racing after holding the race lead from stage nine.