As it happened: Tirreno-Adriatico stage 2

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of stage 2 of the 2024 edition of Tirreno-Adriatico.

Racing is due to get underway on this 198 kilometre stage from Camaiore to Follonica at 11 am CET, so in about 10 minutes time.

Here's a map of where the riders will be heading today, southwards with a 20 kilometre loop through Follonica to finish off with.

So far the riders have done 10 kilometres of 1,119 they have to tackle in this year's seven-stage Tirreno-Adriatico, and on today's 198 kilometre ride, there's just one classified climb, the Castellina Marittima (11.8km  - 3%) peaking out at just under the half-way point, km 96.
Other than that, there's a short opening  unclassified climb, the Montemagno (2.6km at 4.8%), which could well see an early break form. And there's another unclassified ascent, to Canneto at km 136.4  (4.1km at 4%), where there is the one intermediate sprint of the day.

With so much flat after the Canneto climb, though, it's almost certainly going to be a stage for the sprinters.

198 kms to go

And the race is officially underway. Only 198 kilometres to go

A reminder of our race classification leaders, who are all one and the same person: stage 1 winner Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) heads the GC, the points ranking and the Best Young Rider ranking. No Mountains leader yet as the opening time trial in Lido di Camaiore on Monday was completely flat, but whoever is fastest up the one classified climb of the day at km 96, provided they make it to the finish, will have the right to that leader's jersey  on the winner's podium at the end of the day in Follonica.

A quick reminder of what happened in yesterday's opening stage, where leading favourite Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) failed to repeat his 2022 and 2023 Lido di Camaiore triumph and finished one second behind Ayuso.

Tirreno-Adriatico: Juan Ayuso storms to opening time trial victory, takes first leader's jersey

And here's a shot of Ayuso and Ganna at Tuesday's startline in Camaiore, prior to the off.

As Ayuso is race leader, Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek), third on Monday's opening TT, is wearing the white jersey of BYR

One non-starter today: Italian allrounder Filippo Conca (Q36.5) has gone down with a fever and is no longer in the race.

Four riders have made an early move over the Montemagno climb and are now heading through the coastal city of Livorno. Names to come soon.

Three Italians and a Swiss rider have the honour of making up the first break of the 2024 Tirreno-Adriatico. That’s Lorenzo Quartucci (Corratec-Vini Fantini), Jan Stockli (Corratec-Vini Fantini), Davide Bais (Polti-Kometa) and Filippo Magli (VF-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè. Right now they have a lead of 40 seconds on the peloton.

If the name Davide Bais rings bells, that's probably because last year he was the winner on the Gran Sasso, no less, in the Giro d'Italia at the end of a six-hour long breakaway by three riders on a day when the GC riders declared a virtual truce. We've still got 180 kilometres to go to the finish, so there's plenty of time to read what happened last May, here:

Giro d'Italia: Bais wins stage 7 from breakaway trio atop Campo Imperatore

180 kilometres to go

The gap for the four ahead is up to 2:00 and rising. Looks like we have the break of the day.

We don't have any shots of the break yet, but here's an atmospheric one of the bunch rolling out of the start town Camaiore. To judge from this picture, the good news is that (as yet at least) it's not raining.

The gap of the four riders ahead continues to soar and is now north of the 4:00 mark

The gap is up to 5:20.  Bais is the best placed of the four on GC, just 1:07 down on Ayuso, so the Italian is now the race leader on the road.

Readers with a sense of deja vu of this stage would not be wrong: it's all but identical to last year's stage 2 of Tirreno-Adriatico, also run off between Camaiore and Follonica, but 12 kilometres longer. The same mid-stage climb of Castellina Marittima featured, as did the intermediate sprint at Canneto and the last loop through Follonica, although  in 2023 was 22 kilometres long and this time it's 18.5 kilometres.

The rider who won the stage, Fabio Jakobsen (Team dsm-firmenich-PostNL) is currently in Paris-Nice, but the rider who finished second, Jasper Philipsen (Deceuninck-Alpecin) is here in Tirreno-Adriatico this March. As are the riders who took fourth, Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty); sixth, Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain Victorious) and eighth, Simone Consonni (Lidl-Trek).  Follonica was also a finish town for Tirreno in 2020 and 2018, when Pascal Ackermann and Marcel Kittel won respectively. The idea that this could be a bunch sprint stage, then, is hardly a radical one.

Back in this year's race, meanwhile UAE Team Emirates and Ineos Grenadiers are keeping things under control in the bunch and the gap has dropped to just under four minutes.

150 kilometres to go

And the gap for the four riders on the bunch now stands at just under four minutes.

Break: Lorenzo Quartucci (Corratec-Vini Fantini), Jan Stockli (Corratec-Vini Fantini), Davide Bais (Polti-Kometa) and Filippo Magli (VF-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè)

Here's a shot of the break of the day from the first hour of racing

The first hour of racing was run off at a fairly brisk 42.2kmh. The gap has dropped to just under three minutes now.

The peloton continue to make serious inroads into the break's advantage and GC teams Ineos and UAE are reinforced at the head of a strung-out bunch by Alpecin - Deceuninck andTeam dsm-firmenich PostNL. The gap now stands at 2:30 and falling.

135 kilometres to go

Perhaps aware that they were closing in too fast on their prey, the peloton seem to have given the four breakaway riders something of a reprieve - 2:40 the latest gap.

The race leaders are about five kilometres from the foot of the one classified climb of the day, the Castellina Marittima (11.8 Km at 3.0%). It's a long grind, but the reward at the top is a spell in the lead of the classifications jersey this evening.

The four race leaders and the peloton are on the Castellina Marittima climb now.

After two hours of racing, the average speed remains high, at 45.2kmh, but that'll likely drop on the climb.

Some quotes from the start  on the race website from Tim Merlier (Soudal-QuickStep), who recently claimed three wins out of a possible four in bunch sprints in the UAE Tour.
"Morale is very high after UAE. Today it'll be important to be in the fifth or sixth place on the last corner to do a good sprint. As a team, we'll live up to our responsibilities, if we have to pull we will, I know a lot of teams will be expecting us to do that." 

Davide Bais (Kometa-Polti) takes the maximum mountain points at the top of the Castellina Marittima, with Lorenzo Quartucci (Team Corratec - Vini Fantini)  in second and Filippo Magli (VF Group - Bardiani CSF - Faizanè) in third.

98 kilometres to go

2:24 for the four rider break, which reforms on the descent of the Castellina Marittima. Alpecin-Deceuninck lead the pack.

It's a long, fairly straightforward, descent off the Castellina Marittima, with low wind speeds (15km) and some clouds, but no rain for now to trouble the riders.

The gap is dropping again, and fast, as Soudal-QuickStep add their shoulder to the collective wheel of chasing down the break. Just 1:38 for the four riders ahead.

The four riders reach the foot of the Castellina Marittima, and return to much flatter terrain. Barring the brief-ish rise to the Canneto (4.1km - 4%) and the intermediate sprint and the drop off that follows that's pretty much it for the climbing and descending  today.

The gap has shrunk to less than a minute

75 kilometres to go

The gap hovers around the minute mark as we head towards the decisive segment of the race. 

In the upcoming sprint and at the finish on all stages there are bonus seconds on offer again as usual. 3, 2 and 1 seconds for the first ,second and third riders at the intermediate sprint and 10, 6 and 4 at the finish.
That means that a sprinter like Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek), who's just 12 seconds back, is still within sight of the leader's jersey.

That's assuming the break gets caught before the intermediate sprint, of course...

Three kilometres to go at the sprint in Canneto and both the break and the bunch are on the climb...

'When you see how fast it is, you won't laugh anymore' – Jonas Vingegaard defends wild new time trial helmet

The gap is broadening notably between break and bunch as the race approaches the summit and bonus sprint at Canneto. 

Jan Stockli (VF-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè) powers off from the break alone in search of maximum points at the intermediate sprint at Canneto.

The peloton trundles through the intermediate sprint at 1:55. Another steady downhill, this time of around five kilometres beckons, and then we're into the beginning of the grand finale.

Jonas Vingegaard in the midst of a cohort of Visma-Lease A Bike riders during stage 2 and minus his much-talked-about new TT helmet, earlier today.

Jan Stockli (VF-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè) presses on tenaciously, and has a 30 second gap on his three fellow breakaways. Lorenzo Quartucci is doing his duty perfectly, watching out for his teammate and sitting on the back of the move, but it's by no means certain that any of these four will stay away to the finish.

Crash for former Vuelta a España stage winner Kristian Sparagli (Team Corratec - Vini Fantini) at the back of the peloton. But despite a large rip to his shorts and a nasty-looking dose of road rash, he's back up and racing again.

The three riders chasing former breakaway companion Stockli -  Lorenzo Quartucci (Corratec-Vini Fantini), David Bais (Polti-Kometa) and Filippo Magli (VF-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè are now in a kind of no-mans land between the single race leader and the pack.

‘I’d like to get back’ - Tour de France return remains the goal for Chris Froome

45 kilometres to go

 Quartucci, Bais and Magli are swept up by the pack.

40 kilometres to go

40 seconds for Stockli now. It's not curtains yet, but almost.

Game over with 36.7 kilometres to go. Stockli is swept up by the peloton and a new race begins. 

Bike change for Sbaragli after that earlier crash.

A line of Jayco-AIUIa riders on the front right of the bunch, Visma-Lease A Bike in the centre, UAE on the front left, with Soudal-Quick Step, Bahrain Victorious and Alpecin-Deceuninck also vying for space. The pace is steady, but not overly high, more a deterrent for any potential late breakaways than a flat-out effort.

The roads are flat and quite exposed and there's even a glimpse of the sea in the distance now, but the lack of wind means chances of late echelons are low.

The peloton is powering along a broad, flat highway right now, heading at full tilt into the finale.

Tearing along at nearly 60kmh, the peloton go through a left-hand pinch point and reach the city of Follonica for a first time. There's an 18 kilometre finishing circuit to conclude the stage, and the finale is said to be very technical.

Not the same finale as last year, which was much more straightforward. At least they get the chance to see the final few kilometres twice.

Bahrain Victorious are keeping a steady line on the left as the pack goes over a narrow bridge with a divider in the middle.

Into what will be the last two kilometres and the road is switching gently to the right and left for now. The sprinters teams will want as good a look as possible at what could be a very tricky finale.

Crash. UAE 's  Michael Vink and Tudor's Alexander Kamp go down.

The peloton thunders through the line for the first time. Puncture for Mark Cavendish (Astana Qazaqstan) just at the wrong moment.

Team dsm-firmenich PostNL move to the right hand side of the bunch, along with Groupama-FDJ as they curve through a sharp left hand bend.

13 kilometres to go

The peloton heads along the seafront on a technical final circuit that is switching from narrow streets to much broader highways and back again. Fortunately it's dry.

An Intermarché-Wanty rider, Laurence Rex, veers off the left hand side of the road and then dives back into the peloton again.

Astana Qazaqstan riders at the back of the bunch, waiting to see if they can  get Cavendish back into contention. One drops back, but it's looking like a very tough ask after his bad luck.

The peloton is stringing out slightly, such is the speed. After such a long buildup we're seeing almost all the sprinters teams having a go at keeping the pace higha and now it's Lidl-Trek and Israel-Premier Tech on the front.

The peloton strings out even further as yet another team, Tudor, attempt to up the pace on one side of the road, while Groupama are on the far left. 

Six kilometres to go

Vingegaard is making sure he's up close the front. But no clear sign of a single team taking control.

Crash involving Chris Froome and Robert Gesink.

Four kilometres to go and Soudal-QuickStep take command

Ineos are trying to form a line with three kilometres to go, but Soudal have ovetaken them again.

Three kilometres to go, so if there are any splits due to crashes from hereon that won't count for GC.

Yet another nasty corner, and some more road furniture. But Soudal-Quck Step remain in control thanks to Julian Alaphilippe.

Leadout trains are fighting for control on the front, but the technical finish is rendering that very complicated to achieve.

Into the last kilometre

A narrow squeeze through a roundabout and Uno-X are doing a good job, as are Jayco-AIUIa

Jasper Philipsen goes one better than last year and wins stage 2

Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck) wins stage 2 of Tirreno-Adriatico from Camaiore to Follonica

A hectic finale, to say the least: Uno-X were coming through on the left, then Tim Merlier (Soudal-QuickStep) made a dive through the final right-hand corner, with Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck)  on his wheel and Biniam Girmay (Intermarché) following. The two Belgians, Philipsen and Merlier gained some space in the last 300 metres  but Merlier ran out of gas and Philipsen took the win easily.

The most prolifically successful sprinter of 2023, this is Philipsen's first win of 2024, but to judge by how easily he took it, it won't be his last.

Tim Merlier (Soudal-QuickStep) clung on for second with Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty) taking third.

Following his late puncture, Mark Cavendish and teammate Cees Bol (Astana Qazaqstan) cross the line a few minutes after the main peloton.

Some words from Tim Merlier (Soudal-QuickStep), second on the stage at the finish.
"It was hectic, I was a bit too far [out] in the last kilometre, I tried from far, lost some speed on the inside of the corner so it was a bit too early, 300 metres to go. I gave it a try but today is second."
"For the moment, I'm still not out of the top three [in sprint stages] and I can be happy with my shape."

And here's a first photo of the finish

Chris Froome (Israel-Premier Tech) has finished after his late crash, but over four minutes down.

The stage results, courtesy of FirstCycling

Some words from stage 2 winner Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck), second in Follonica last year on a different finish, but who then went on to win on stage 3 and stage 7.

"Last year it was the second opportunity, this time I'm happy we could finish it off today. As always it was really hectic and I'm happy we could get to the finish line and I could do my sprint to win."

"I could feel him [Tim Merlier, second] coming and I knew on the last corner he had to go and I tried to take his wheel. I had some shifting problems and I was happy I could find the right gear. And I launched my sprint at the right moment."

Overall no change. Stage 1 winner Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) remains in control of the lead, with Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) in second at one second and Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) in third.

Here's a picture of Philipsen on the podium

For our full report, analysis, gallery and results, click on the link below:

Tirreno-Adriatico: Jasper Philipsen wins stage 2 in chaotic sprint

And here's some words from Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) who remains in the overall lead for a second straight day, courtesy of Eurosport.

Q: Did you feel more tension than usual in the finale because of this jersey?
A: I think the tension is the same today as we had a tailwind nearly all day and so then everybody was quite fresh so that made it quite hectic and quite dangerous. But thank you to my teammates, they all did a great job ,they managed to keep me in front until the last three k's and then when I passed the 3k banner, then I braked and I went to the back and then I tried to just arrive safe.

In terms of the secondary classifications, Ayuso keeps in control of the points jersey and the BYR rankings, with only one new development: Davide Bais (Polti Kometa) is the first leader of the mountains of the 2024 edition of Tirreno-Adriatico.

On paper stage 3 is a very unpredictable one  - could end in a break, could end in a bunch sprint, could even (whisper it) be a GC stage. What's for certain is it is the longest of the entire week, running 225 kilometres from Volterra to Gualdo Tadino. A very lumpy stage, it has a classified climb, the seven kilometre Casacastalda, with its summit at 11 kilometres to go and a grinding uphill finish.

That just about wraps things up for Tirreno-Adriatico's live coverage today, but we'll be bringing you more news, analysis and reports during the evening. And of course we'll be back with more live coverage of Wednesday's stage, starting at 1020 CET.