Jonas Vingegaard delivered a solo masterclass on stage five of Tirreno-Adriatico, attacking on the climb of San Giacomo 29km from the finish and riding alone to the stage victory.
Despite a concerted chase behind from GC rivals Juan Ayuso (UAE-Team Emirates), Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Ben O'Connor (Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale), the Visma-Lease A Bike rider steadily opened the gap, eventually finishing with 1:12 hand and taking the overall lead too.
Second place went to Ayuso, who outsprinted Hindley for third from the six-rider chase group.
Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) led home the second chase group, 2.52 behind Vingegaard.
Vingegaard's attack was no spontaneous enterprise – after losing time a perhaps surprising 22 seconds in the stage one time trial, it had always been on the cards, he explained after the stage.
"We always had to plan to give it a shot today," he said. "The team rode amazingly and I'm really happy to take the win and to pay the guys back."
Attacking on the Giacomo climb had been very much in the plan, he said, with the team agreeing to go "full gas" in anticipation of his attack.
Asked for his thoughts on International Women's Day, Vingegaard admitted he didn't know about it, but took the opportunity to thank his wife for her support.
"To be honest I didn't know it was international women's day, sorry about that," he said. "But I get all the support from my wife, she's always there for me. Everything she does for me, it's really special."
From the moment Vingegaard made his decisive move, seven kilometres into the 12km climb of Giacomo, there was little doubt about how the rest of the stage would play out.
Those behind turned themselves inside out to try and stay in touch, with Hindley and O'Connor heading off in pursuit alone at one point. But that venture did not last; ultimately, no one could prevent the gap inexorably widening.
It was clear that Vingegaard was thinking a lot about the overall win – even when it was clear the stage was his Vingegaard did not let up, time trialling all the way to the line.
The win means the Dane can approach tomorrow's mountain-top finish on tomorrow's penultimate stage in relative comfort. Monte Petrano, which climbs 10.2km at an average of 7.9% will test everyone's legs, coming at the end of a hilly 180km stage.
After today however, few will be looking further than Vingegaard when it comes to overall victory.
Tirreno-Adriatico 2024, stage five: Torricella Secura > Valle Castellana (144km): Results
1. Jonas Vingegaard (Visma-Lease A Bike) 144km in 3:28:27
2. Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) at 1:12
3. Jai Hindley (Bora-Hansgrohe) at st
4. Ben O'Connor (Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale) at 1:14
5. Thymen Arensman (Ineos Grenadiers) at st
6. Cian Uijtdebroeks (Visma-Lease A Bike) at st
7. Isaac Del Toro (UAE-Team Emirates) at st
8. Tom Pidcock (Ineos Grenadiers) at 2:52
9. Kévin Vauquelin (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) at st
10. Romain Grégoire (Groupama-FDJ) at st
General classification after stage five
1. Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Visma-Lease a Bike, in 18-34-45
2. Juan Ayuso (Esp) UAE Team Emirates, +54s
3. Jai Hindley (Aus) Bora-Hansgrohe, +1.20
4. Thymen Arensman (Ned) Ineos Grenadiers +1.29
5. Ben O'Connor (Aus) Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale +1.32
6. Isaac Del Toro (Mex) UAE Team Emirates +1.34
7. Cian Uijtdebroeks (Bel) Visma-Lease A Bike +2.12
8. Kévin Vaquelin (Fra) Arkéa-B&B Hotels, +2.54
9. Antonio Tiberi (Ita) Bahrain-Victorious, +2.57
10. Roman Grégoire (Fra) Groupama-FDJ, +3.02
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