Tyler Farrar finished fifth in the bunch sprint closing the second stage of Tirreno-Adriatico. A crash in the closing meters marred the finale, but Farrar was ahead of the scene. MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung worked hard to set up the sprint, leading the peloton into the final kilometer.
Tyler opened the sprint with 150 meters to go, but was overtaken by Jens Debusschere (Lotto Soudal) who took the win from of Peter Sagan (Tinkoff-Saxo) and Sam Bennet (Bora-Argon18).
A seven-man break group dominated the stage, escaping five kilometers into the day and staying away some 130 kilometers with a gap of up to six minutes. MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung was visible near the front in the closing 10 kilometers, moving to the front with four kilometers to go. The final 20 kilometers were marked by a series of crashes, fortunately without MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung participation.
Tyler Farrar – Rider
I think today was a perfect first try for our lead-out. The guys were incredible, so I really have to thank all of them. It is really exciting to see what we can accomplish. I’m looking forward to jump into the train and drag a few wheels in the next coming days. I think that a win is right around the corner for us and that we will be able to spread Qhubeka’s message in this way.
Alex Sans Vega – Sports Director
I am very happy with how the team rode today. We did a very good lead out and were also lucky to avoid any crashes. Top5 is a good result considering that the team we have at Tirreno-Adriatico is racing together for the first time. It is convincing to see how they did and we look forward to the next stages.
