SAN BENEDETTO DEL TRONTO, Italy – Three races, three overall victories.
The two-time Tour de France champion Tadej Pogačar extended his almost perfect start to the cycling season by defending his title in the week-long Tirreno-Adriatico.
The Slovenian rider also won the week-long UAE Tour last month, after which it featured a dominant display on the white gravel roads in the one-day race Strade Bianche in Tuscany.
“I may seem invincible, but I am not,” Pogačar said.
In Tirreno, Pogačar won the two toughest stages and finished with an advantage of 1 minute, 52 seconds over Jonas Vingegaard and 2:33 ahead of Mikel Landa.
The 23-year-old Pogačar, who drives for the UAE Team Emirates, also won Tirreno’s points classification and classification for best young rider.
German rider Phil Bauhaus won the final stage of the sea-to-sea race, a 159-kilometer (99-mile) that began and ended in San Benedetto del Tronto, in a sprint finish.
Giacomo Nizzolo finished in second place on the final stage, which was hilly at the start and then flat in goal, and Kaden Groves crossed third.
Pogačar crossed the 33rd with the same time as the Bauhaus.
The next for Pogačar is the Milan-San Remo classic.
Tadej Pogačar defends Tirreno-Adriatico title for 3rd consecutive victory, originally appeared on NBCSports.com