UAE Team Emirates (Italy) - Press Release: 4th in closing time trial for Slovenian.

Tadej Pogačar put in a confident display to close out his victory in Tirreno-Adriatico.

Having claimed a solo win at Prati di Tivo on stage 4 and taking the blue leaders jersey, the 22 year old put in a strong defence to extend his overall lead on stage 5.

With a buffer of 1’15’’ over his nearest rival Wout Van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) coming into the final day, the Slovenian time-trial champion knew he had to do a good performance to keep the lead on the 10km course around San Benedetto del Tronto.

The stage honours went to Van Aert with Pogačar coming in 4th, 12″ behind the winner.

Along with the overall, Pogačar also takes the mountains classification and the award for the best young rider.

The win at Tirreno-Adriatico adds to Pogačar’s blistering start to the season: starting with his win at UAE Tour, where the squad also claimed the team classification. Pogačar will now take a short break before taking aim at the Tour of the Basque Country and the Ardennes classics.

Pogačar:

“It’s been a hard week of racing. This is one of the most prestigious one-week races so I’m really happy to get the win. I felt the hard week in the legs today but I’m happy with my ride. Now I’ll take a rest and build up towards Basque Country.”

Stage 7 results:

1. Wout Van Aert (Team Jumbo-Visma) 11’06”
2. Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ) +6″
3. Filippo Ganna (INEOS Grenadiers) +11″
4. Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) +12″

Final General Classification:

1. Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirares) 23h36’17”
2. Wout Van Aert (Team Jumbo-Visma) +1’03”
3. Mikel Landa (Bahrain-Victorious) +3’57”