Stage 4 of @tirreno_adriatico marked a day of learning for IPT - but one, thankfully, without any immediate consequences 📝

After the peloton split in crosswinds over the top of the Valico La Crocetta climb, @derekgee97 and his teammates found themselves in the second part of the peloton having been caught off-guard by the conditions. A frantic, near 80-kilometer chase ensued, and thankfully the Canadian rider finished safely in the front group to remain fourth on GC.

Gee says: “It all seemed straightforward – a little miserable with the weather and everything. We got to the top of the climb and were completely caught off guard with these crosswinds. Nothing to say apart from thank you to the boys. They rode completely out of their skin to get me back and I managed not to lose any time. In the end nothing was lost, but a little more stressful than it had to be. You feel bad when it’s your mistake that makes your teammates ride that hard, but for sure lessons learned for the future.”

“I think today highlights that riding GC is a different game – you need to be on it all the time,” adds @sambewley , Head Sports Director. “We were surprised, and I think a lot of people probably were too by the split there, so hats off to Bahrain for recognizing the situation when they started their move. We got caught off guard and we were too far back.

“We got lucky to save the day in some senses; @frigomarco_ and @tjakestewart did a great job to correct things for us, but thanks also to Soudal for helping us close the gap in the final there. Today just highlights the process of GC, how you can never switch off and always need to be prepared for surprises. It’s a lesson learned without a penalty, which is good, and we move forward now.”

📸 @sprintcycling

🇮🇹 #TirrenoAdriatico #YallaIPT #FactorRacing ...

The finish line faces said it all today 😩

It was a grim day of racing with 239km in the rain on stage 3 of @tirreno_adriatico but our bright blue @ekoicycling rain jackets made us easy to spot in the peloton!

We saw attacks on the final climb and @derekgee97 was able to test his legs, moving up to 4th on GC.

📷 @sprintcycling

🇮🇹 #TirrenoAdriatico #YallaIPT #FactorRacing ...

Only the goodest boys go to bike races 🐶😍

The cutest furry friends were out in Follonica at the start of @tirreno_adriatico stage 3!

📷 @sprintcycling

🇮🇹 #TirrenoAdriatico #YallaIPT ...

A solid start for @derekgee97 at @tirreno_adriatico !

Our Canadian kicked off his GeeC ambitions with 6th place in the opening ITT 👊

“I’m really happy with that,” said Derek. “It was a hard TT, super straightforward, but when you go that hard you really feel it. I’m here to try and get the best GC result possible so this is one step towards that.”

One stage down, six to go with a sprint opportunity coming up tomorrow.

📷 Sprint Cycling

🇮🇹 #TirrenoAdriatico #YallaIPT #FactorRacing ...

A @strade_bianche debut @joeblackmore03 won’t forget.

Crossing the line in 30th place as IPT’s best rider, just over nine minutes down on Pogacar, Joe reflected on just how much suffering it takes in a race like Strade Bianche.

“Yeah, you have to love it to get around suffering so much,” Joe says. “You’ve got to just dig in. I’m glad I made it. I had some real hard points in the race but in the end, I think I did everything I could do. On most sectors we were in good position and for most of the race we had all the guys in the front. Then it was just about suffering.”

Riding into Siena not too long after Joe, all of the guys were dusty, battered, or bruised, many having been caught up in the day’s countless crashes. Two who were not so lucky were @neilandskrists, who sustained a fractured wrist, and @riley_sheehan, who was also forced to abandon the race but fortunately, escaped without serious injury.

Every rider had a different Strade Bianche story and while Joe’s was one of suffering, we have a feeling it’s just the first of many chapters to be written at the Tuscan Classic.

🇮🇹 #StradeBianche #YallaIPT #FactorRacing ...

Coffee, cake, and sunshine before @strade_bianche…

The perfect preparation 😍

🇮🇹 #StradeBianche #YallaIPT #FactorBikes ...

There’s nothing like the @stradebianche steratti 😍

Bring on Saturday’s showdown!

🇮🇹 #StradeBianche #YallaIPT #FactorRacing ...