Tirreno-Adriatico: Mads Würtz Schmidt wins stage 6

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Mads Würtz Schmidt (Israel Start-Up Nation) won stage 6 of Tirreno-Adriatico to Lido di Fermo, beating Brent Van Moer (Lotto Soudal) and Simone Velasco (Gazprom-RusVelo) from the breakaway of the day that escaped the grip of the sprinters' teams on the second-fastest road stage in the history of Tirreno-Adriatico.

Six riders outfoxed the peloton, with veteran Jan Bakelants (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert) and Nelson Oliveira (Movistar Team) also in the move. In a five-rider sprint, Würtz Schmidt used his time trial power to surge to the line along the seafront finish.

Emils Liepins (Trek-Segafredo) had been part of the break but was distanced on the final short climb of the finishing circuit and finished sixth at 25 seconds.

Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) finished safely in the peloton, led home by Tim Merlier (Alpecin-Fenix) at 1:09, and retained his 1:15 overall race lead before Tuesday's 10.1km final time trial.

Würtz Schmidt is often aggressive in races and had been on the attack several times at Tirreno-Adriatico. He won the under-23 world time trial title in 2015 in Richmond, Virginia, but this was his first victory as a professional rider after five years of trying.

The Danish rider moved to Israel Start-Up Nation in 2020 after three years at Katusha-Alpecin.

"I'm extremely happy. I've been fighting for this for the last 5 years since I was a pro; to finally win the WorldTour is a big relief," he said, explaining how the break cracked the peloton during the fast stage.

"It was a hard start. First, I tried with two other guys and that didn't work out, we didn't get away. I got away a second time with this group and we worked really well together. We all had in mind that we had to go hard the whole way to break the morale in the peloton. We succeeded with that. 

"It was a super hard stage but I felt good when we came into the final. Then on the last lap, we knew it was between us, so it was full gas from there."

How it unfolded

Following the cold and rain of Sunday's stage to Castelfidardo, the riders signed on under blue skies in Castelraimondo, happy for a ride down the Adriatico to Lido di Fermo in spring-like weather.

The road down the valley to the coast inspired some fast racing and several breakaway attempts. However, nothing stuck until 140km to go after 30km at over 55kph. The sprinters and GC teams were vigilant about who could go clear, hoping for a controlled day in the saddle.

Jan Bakelants (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert), Simone Velasco (Gazprom-RusVelo), Mads Würtz Schmidt (Israel Start-Up Nation), Brent Van Moer (Lotto Soudal), Nelson Oliveira (Movistar) and Emils Liepins (Trek-Segafredo) formed the next attack and were not deemed a threat, and formed a solid break and quickly opened a gap, in what should have been a warning sign to the peloton.   

The UAE Team Emirates squad of Fernando Gaviria and race leader Tadej Pogacar occupied the front of the peloton, accepting their responsibility but after just 10km, the lead of the break was up to 5:00. With 100km to go, the gap was up to 6:00 as the fatigue of the weekend's intense racing had clearly left its mark. 

The escapees passed the finish line in Lido di Fermo for the first time with 75km to go and, convinced of their chances, were still committed to working together. Despite the kilometres ticking down quickly, there was still no particular urgency in the peloton with Alpecin-Fenix, Deceuninck-QuickStep and UAE Team Emirates leading the peloton but the gap still at 5:30. Alpecin-Fenix did more work on the front, thinking of Tim Merlier but other teams hesitated, with Eolo-Kometa eventually coming up to try to bring the gap down when it was getting late.

Simon Carr (EF Education-Nippo) suffered a nasty crash in the peloton with 60km to go, hitting an unprotected traffic island and road sign at speed. He went down hard but was lucky to get up and ride on.   

The breakaway came through the finish line in Lido di Fermo for the second time with a lead of 3:45 as they began four laps of the 11.2km finishing circuit along the seafront and the short climb covered in the prestigious Capodarco under-23 race.

The six leaders worked well together, arguably better than the peloton, holding onto a buffer of 2:45 as they entered the final 25km. Alarm bells were suddenly ringing in the peloton but there seemed a clear lack of desire and energy to chase down the attack.

Mikel Landa (Bahrain Victorious) punctured with 23km to go but the Basque rider had several teammates with him as he got a wheel change and made it back on without undue problems to stay third overall at 3:00. Meanwhile, Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) sat up, no doubt thinking of Tuesday's time trial.

In contrast, Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ) did not hold back, going off the front in lone pursuit of the breakaway. However, his move, like the hopes of the peloton, was too little and too late on the final lap of Lido di Fermo. 

It was a day for the breakaway and they deserved their moment of glory.