Geraint Thomas nabbed the second stage of Tirreno-Adriatico on Thursday in Pomarance. The Sky rider soloed away in the closing kilometres of the day's uphill finale and held on to cross the line nine seconds ahead of the bunch, delivering a bit of redemption for Team Sky after a disastrous opening stage.

Sunweb's Tom Dumoulin attempted to catch Thomas but couldn't close the gap, settling for second on the stage, while Bora-Hansgrohe's Peter Sagan won the sprint for third in the peloton.

BMC's Greg Van Avermaet took over the Tirreno-Adriatico GC lead from teammate Damiano Caruso by virtue of finishing first among the red and black squad, winners of the stage 1 team time trial.

The race rolls on Friday with a 204km stage from Monterotondo Marittimo to Montalto di Castro.