Stage 4 of Tirreno Adriatico on Wednesday 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, Derek Gee 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.”
Despite this being IPT’s 11th season in the peloton, riding GC remains relatively uncharted territory for the team. And while Gee’s success at last month’s O Gran Camiño was thankfully stress-free, today’s stage in Italy emphasized the relentless nature of racing for the overall standings.
“I think today highlights that riding GC is a different game – you need to be on it all the time,” adds Sam Bewley, 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; Marco [Frigo] and Jake [Stewart] 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.”
Gee is 34 seconds behind race leader Filippo Ganna (IGD) on GC but sits just five seconds off the podium with three stages remaining.
Photos: SprintCycling
