(Reuters) – Colombian Nairo Quintana laid down an early marker for the Tour de France when he won the Tirreno-Adriatico stage race after holding on to his overall lead at the end of the final time trial on Tuesday. Australian Rohan Dennis (BMC) prevailed in the 10.5-km solo effort against the clock to finish second overall ahead of France’s Thibaut Pinot (FDJ).
Quintana (Movistar), a twice Tour de France runner-up who built his victory with a win in the main mountain stage that ended up the Terminillo pass, finished with a 25-second advantage over Dennis, with Pinot ending up 36 seconds off the pace. World champion Peter Sagan, one of the top favorites for Saturday’s classic Milan-San Remo, was nearly taken down when a lady with a dog walked on a pedestrian crossing just in front of him.
(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Mark Trevelyan)
Reuters
