German fastman Phil Bauhaus timed it perfectly at the end of what was a tough day on stage three of Tirreno-Adriatico, with tricky bends in the uphill finale catching out a number of riders including Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck).
The Bahrain-Victorious rider beat Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) and Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) in Gualdo Tadino.
The top of the general classification changed, with Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) in blue, Milan in second, and Vauquelin in third.
With a kilometre to go and the road rising upwards, the riders first had to negotiate a 180-degree bend. They came through intact but had to face an even trickier sweeper as the stage entered its final 200 metres. Five riders were caught out, including Philipsen, who had been well positioned to sprint for another stage victory, after winning yesterday in Follonica.
The 225km stage was run off in decidedly damp conditions, although things had mostly dried up by the time the peloton reached the technical finish. First they had the classified climb of the Casacastalda to deal with (7km at 3.2%), which came around 15km before the line. Despite the obstacle the race remained largely intact as it approached the final few kilometres, which were also uphill but not classified.
Bauhaus said he had initially doubted his chances when he first looked at the uphill finish, but the belief he had from his team – plus good legs – saw him through.
"To be honest, no," he said when asked whether he had thought he had a chance. "When I checked the profile I was thinking it was pretty much on the limit for me.
"I was suffering of course the last climb," he added. "But the team believed in me. They worked really well and into the last kilometre I was in perfect position, luckily I had the legs then to do a good sprint."
Tomorrow sees the first major climb in the race as the riders take on the 207km from Arrone to Giulianova on the Adriatic coast. However, the Valico di Castelluccio (17.2km at 5%) is dealt with just 70km into the stage and is unlikely to play a GC role. Look out for breakaways though.
RESULTS: TIRRENO-ADRIATICO STAGE three, Volterra > Gualdo Tadino (225km)
1. Phil Bauhaus (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe, in 5:25:51
2. Jonathan Milan (Ita) Lidl-Trek
3. Kévin Vaquelin (Fra) Arkéa-B&B Hotels
4. Alberto Bettiol (Ita) EF Education-EasyPost
5. Andrea Vendrame (Ita) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale
6. Simone Velasco (Ita) Astana Qazaqstan
7. Damiano Caruso (Ita) Bahrain-Victorious
8. Marius Mayrhofer (Ger) Tudor Pro Cycling
9. Kevin Vermaerke (USA) dsm-firmenich PostNL
10. Nikias Arndt (Ger) Bahrain-Victorious, all at same time
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION AFTER STAGE three
1. Juan Ayuso (Esp) UAE Team Emirates, in 10:09:22
2. Jonathan Milan (Ita) Lidl-Trek, +6s
3. Kévin Vaquelin (Fra) Arkéa-B&B Hotels, +14s
4. Antonio Tiberi (Ita) Bahrain-Victorious, +17s
5. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Visma-Lease a Bike, +22s
6. Roman Grégoire (Fra) Groupama-FDJ, s.t.
7. Jai Hindley (Aus) Bora-Hansgrohe, +24s
8. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-EasyPost, +26s
9. Max Poole (GBr) dsm-firmenich PostNL
10. Lennard Kämna (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe, all s.t.
