Filippo Ganna retained the Maglia Azzura on stage four of Tirreno-Adriatico after a stellar team performance from the INEOS Grenadiers.
A hectic 190km stage saw the Grenadiers control the race from start to finish, dictating the pace throughout.
After a lumpy start to the race, the Grenadiers steam train was in full force inside the final 70km, splintering the peloton to bits and closing in on a five-rider break up the road.
At the 45km mark, Ganna and Laurens de Plus battled the wind on an exposed, flat section, breaking away with UAE Team Emirates – XRG’s Juan Ayuso, Felix Grosschartner and Isaac Del Toro along with Quentin Pacher (Groupama-FDJ).
The six-rider group looked like they were closing in on the break but were reeled in by the peloton just before they entered the final flat circuit with 30km to go.
The Grenadiers continued to power on the front of the peloton, protecting Ganna’s lead as the peloton was all back together in the final section.
An attack from Mathieu Van Der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) saw Ganna straight on his wheel with 5km to go but the move was quickly foiled. Ben Healy (EF Education-EasyPost) counterattacked, and a break of three gained a small gap, with De Plus spearheading the front of the peloton in the chase home.
It all came down to a bunch finish, with Ganna firing to seventh place and maintaining the Maglia Azzura after a dominant day of racing from the squad.
Meanwhile, in the fifth stage of Paris-Nice, Magnus Sheffield brought the Grenadiers home, while Tobias Foss showed his mettle once again in another brave solo break.
Another freezing day saw Ben Swift attack inside the first 80km, going clear with Thibaud Gruel (Groupama-FDJ). The duo managed to rack up a lead of almost three minutes, with Foss bridging over solo after attacking up the Cote de Sibuze with just over 40km remaining.
Up the next climb, Foss attacked hard, gaining a minute’s lead, before being caught inside the final 10km.
A gruelling finish saw Sheffield finish ninth, 16 seconds back from winner Lenny Martinez (Bahrain Victorious), while Thymen Arensman’s 13th place was enough to keep him eighth on the GC.
Swift was awarded the most combative rider of the day while the Grenadiers continue to lead the team standings with three stages remaining.
