The Dutchman Fabio Jakobsen, from Soudal Quick-Step, crossed the finish line in first position in the second stage of the Tirreno-Adriatico between Camaiore and Follonica after a close sprint in which he battled with the Belgian Jasper Philipsen, second, and the Colombian Fernando Gaviria, third.

Jakobsen achieved victory with a time of 05:06:33 in the second stage of the ‘Race of the Two Seas’ and achieved his second victory of the season, the first of his career in this competition and the sixth in big events after the five that he has harvested in the Vuelta España and the only one that he achieved in the Tour de France.

A race that began with the Swiss Roland Thalmann (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) and the Italians Davide Bais (EOLO-Kometa), Mirco Maestri (EOLO-Kometa), Stefano Gandin (Team Corratec) and Alessandro Iacchi (Team Corratec) leading a small escape that reached a two-minute advantage over the peloton.

It gradually disappeared, while the escapees were showing physical wear and tear until, with 65 km to go, only Maestri, Iacchi and Thalmann remained in front, although with the peloton keeping a close eye on their movements.

The hunt was a fact, the peloton waited patiently for the right moment to pick up the pace and kick off the key part of the journey. With 20 km to go, the breakaway disappeared and a new race began, flat from then until the finish line, in which the teams battled to obtain the best place for their sprinters to fight for victory.

Among this exchange of maneuvers, positions and speed changes, with four kilometers to go, the Spanish Cristian Rodríguez (Arkea Samsic) fell after a collision with the Eritrean Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier (Trek-Segafredo), in an action without serious consequences for any of the affected.

The outcome of this 210-kilometer route between the towns of Camaiore and Follonica (north) brought together the best sprinters from each team at the head of a compact peloton in the last kilometers, but it was Gaviria (Movistar) who took the initiative with a long snatch that surprised the heavyweights and triggered the final sprint.

The Colombian held up well until the last, decisive meters, in which Jakobsen displayed his potential and recovered from Gaviria’s unexpected attack to take just enough lead in the wheel-to-wheel and win the second stage of the Tirreno-Adriatico.

Despite the Dutchman’s victory, the Italian Filippo Ganna, who was fastest on Monday in a wet time trial, remains the leader in the general classification with a time of 05:19:01.

1. Filippo GANNA (NOW) INEOS GRENADIERS 5:19:01

2. Lennard KAMNA (ALE) BORA-HANSGROHE 5:19:29

3. Magnus SHEFFIELD (USA) INEOS GRENADIERS 5:19:32

4. Brandon McNulty (EE.UU) UAE TEAM EMIRATES 5:19:35

5. Thymen ARENSMAN (NETHERLANDS) INEOS GRENADIERS 5:19:40

6. Joao Pedro ALMEIDA (BY) UAE TEAM EMIRATES 5:19:42

7. Andreas LEKNESSUND (NOR) TEAM DSM 5:19:42

8. Phillip Casper PEDERSEN (DIN) SOUDAL QUICK-STEP 5:19:48

9. Wilco KELDERMAN JUMBO-VISMA 5:19:49

10. Alexey LUTSENKO (KAZ) ASTANA QAZAQSTAN TEAM 5:19:49

11. Primoz ROGLIC (ESLV) JUMBO-VISMA 5:19:50

13. Mathieu VAN DER POEL (PAÍSES BAJOS) ALPECIN-DECEUNINCK 5:19:51

21. Enric MAS (ESP) MOVISTAR TEAM 5:20:01.