Filippo Ganna is one of the most powerful riders in the WorldTour peloton, and managed to produce the watts to defy gravity on the final climb of stage 5 of Tirreno-Adriatico but then his chain failed a similar test as he raced to the finish in Pergola.
The Ineos Grenadiers rider was about to try to sprint to the line or chase down Fredrik Dversnes (Uno-X Mobility) who was still clear after being in the break of the day. Suddenly he was left spinning his legs as his rivals rode away from him.
Fortunately, the problem occurred in the final three kilometres of the stage so Ganna was given the same time as the chasers and kept his blue race leader's jersey for another day.
"I hit a hole in the road, my chain got caught up between the cog and the frame. I tried to get it back on with a powerful turn of the pedals but broke off the derailleur…" Ganna explained post-stage, still disappointed on missing out on a chance of another stage victory.
"I'm disappointed. Every time I ride well, something happens. It could have been so different today," he said, apologising to his Ineos Grenadiers teammates for all their hard work and to his team car for venting his frustration on them as they struggled to understand what had happened and what he needed.
Ganna appears to be stronger than his chain and stronger than ever. He will surely be a Milan-San Remo contender, just as he was in recent years and especially in 2023 when he finished second, beating Wout Van Aert and Tadej Pogačar in a sprint behind solo winner Mathieu van der Poel.
"We've worked hard this winter and tried to improve," Ganna said simply.
"Last year I was ill a lot in the winter but fortunately so far this year, touch wood, I've been fine. Let's hope it stays that way, at least for another week, until Milan-San Remo.
"2020 is a good comparison of my form this year. I'm now five kilogrammes heavier but I've put on muscle and lost fat. People say I'm too skinny but I'm still around 86kg."
Ganna won the opening time trial of Tirreno-Adriatico and could have opted to avoid suffering in the hills. Instead, he took advice from teammate Geraint Thomas and has now worn the blue leader's jersey from the Tyrrhenian to the Adriatic coast.
He is expected to lose the jersey on Saturday's decisive mountain finish to Frontignano, which ends with a 7.7km climb at 7.8% but will go down fighting.
"We spoke to Geraint Thomas last night and asked him if he thought I should ease up and start to recover for Milan-San Remo or keep racing hard," Ganna revealed.
"He convinced me that with the form I have, I should try to keep the jersey for another day. Geraint said I can enjoy an extra day in bed next week.
"For now I just want to get to the hotel and relax. It was another hard 200km day in the saddle with a lot of adrenaline and disappointment. I'll think about tomorrow's stage tomorrow."
