Ayuso claimed victory on Stage 6 of Tirreno-Adriatico, delivering a dominant climbing performance. Meanwhile, Filippo Ganna showed impressive resilience, limiting his losses and securing a strong podium position.
It was the only climbing day in Tirreno-Adriatico, likely to decide the GC winner of the race. In a wet and cold edition, Juan Ayuso and UAE Team Emirates were the favourites to win after Ayuso had shown very strong performances in the French and Italian hilly classics. While there was no S-tier GC rider, his competition included Jai Hindley, Antonio Tiberi, Derek Gee, Tom Pidcock, Mikel Landa, Adam Yates, Simon Yates, Giulio Ciccone, and other climbers. Before the final climb, Derek Gee had spent 3,549 kilojoules over 3:53 hours at a rate of 13.06 kj/kg/h.
Ayuso was second in both the time trial and the GC before this stage, trailing Filippo Ganna by 22 seconds. Despite Ganna reportedly weighing 86 kg, the Italian was riding for GC and doing his best on the mighty Frontignano climb. To put pressure on INEOS, Isaac Del Toro, who finished fourth in Tirreno last year, began pacing for Ayuso. This worked as the peloton dwindled and Ganna started to struggle, trying to hold his own pace. With 4 km to go, Ayuso attacked but could not drop multiple riders. Tom Pidcock was able to initially follow and, similar to Strade Bianche, was happy to pull with an UAE Emirates leader. It did not last long, as Ayuso attacked again, gapping Pidcock, Landa, and Hindley.
Ayuso won the stage and became the new GC leader, while Ganna lost only 50 seconds and secured a podium place before the final stage, which features a flat parcours. Ganna finished in the same group as Visma | Lease a Bike’s Giro leader, Simon Yates, and was ahead of many talented climbers.
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Ayuso, similar to his performance at the Drôme Classic, was in top shape and delivered a very high-level ride for a March race. The 22-year-old Spaniard pushed 6.79 ᵉW/Kg for 19:45 minutes after a long and hard stage. Given the conditions and the mid-altitude climb, this was his best climbing performance to date, as he did not race La Vuelta and dropped out of the Tour de France early last year before the major climbs. Tom Pidcock continued to perform well with his new team, producing 6.67 ᵉW/Kg, while Q36.5 had two riders in the Top 10 of the GC, with David De La Cruz finishing eighth. To lose 50 seconds to Ayuso, Ganna needed to push 6.37 ᵉW/Kg for 20:35 minutes. Assuming his weight remained 86 kg before the climb, this equates to 6.06 real W/kg or a little over 520 watts.