Michal Kwiatkowski may have come third on stage 6 of Tirreno-Adriatico, but the former world champion was pleased with his performance and gained confidence for the upcoming Milan-San Remo by finishing strong on a difficult 210km stage.
The Team Sky rider went with the winning move just after the final intermediate sprint when Tinkoff's Daniele Bennati drove the pace in an attempt to pull his teammate Peter Sagan clear. The pair were followed by eventual stage winner Greg Van Avermaet (BMC), Kwiatkowski, Oscar Gatto (Tinkoff), overnight race leader Zdenek Stybar (Etixx-Quickstep), and two of his teammates.
"Today was also a good test for Milan-San Remo. It was a long stage and a thrilling finale with top riders like Sagan, Van Avermaet and Stybar. I felt good, as did my legs which gives me confidence for La Classicissima," Kwiatkowski said, adding that entering into the move with 20km to go was unexpected.
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"I'm happy the team was there on the front before the intermediate sprint and I could easily be in the first group. We were pushing together. I knew that it was good to be there on the front with those guys because there was no Tejay van Garderen and Bob Jungels, and they’re good in the time trial," Kwiatkowski said.
As the kilometers ticked down, the peloton drew nearer and nearer, and with two kilometers to go the group had a lead of just 11 seconds, and one half that in the final kilometer. But a surge from Kwiatkowski with 500m to go ensured the Sagan, Van Avermaet and he would stay clear by seven seconds.
"I tried in the end because I saw Stybar suffering and the group was coming, so I decided to go quicker. In the end I had some advantage on the peloton, which was a little but more important than waiting for the sprint."
— Astana Pro Team (@AstanaTeam) March 14, 2016
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