Geraint Thomas (Team Sky) stopped just past the finish line at Terminillo to put on warm clothing and perhaps stop for a second to take stock of his superb ride on the 16km climb in the Italian Apennines.
Nairo Quintana (Movistar) won stage 4 and took the overall race lead but Thomas finished second, just 18 seconds behind the Colombian climber. He rode aggressively but also intelligently, as he out-performed some of Grand Tour riders in the peloton and some of those who will be his rivals in the Giro d'Italia in May.
"I didn't really know what to expect, it's the first mountaintop of the season. I've been feeling pretty good, so yeah, I'm pretty happy with that. Quintana's quite good going uphill," Thomas said wrapping up against the gelid temperatures at the finish.
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Having already nabbed a stage victory on the second day of racing at Tirreno, Thomas took huge encouragement from being able to pursue Quintana up the seven per cent gradient of Terminillo on Saturday. The likes of Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida), Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb) and numerous others all finished well down on the Welshman. Thomas beat Adam Yates (Orica-Scott) by six seconds, as the two British riders looked the strongest amongst the Quintana chasers. It is the first time that two British riders finish in the top three of a stage at Tirreno-Adriatico.
"It's encouraging. Bloody hard, but encouraging," Thomas said of being able to pursue Quintana as he did.
"That kick Quintana had, the acceleration, is phenomenal, and I knew I couldn't match that. I had to kick myself, but just not go well into the red. I had to try to pace it. I started to claw my way back, but he started to kick again. But yeah, it's not bad."
A strong, united Team Sky
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