SAN BENEDETTO DEL TRONTO, Italy (AP) — Three races, three overall victories.
Two-time Tour de France champion Tadej Pogačar extended his nearly perfect start to the cycling season by defending his title in the weeklong Tirreno-Adriatico race on Sunday.
The Slovenian rider also won the weeklong UAE Tour last month then put on a dominant display on the white, gravel roads of the Strade Bianche single-day race last weekend in Tuscany.
“I might seem unbeatable but I’m not,” Pogačar said.
In the 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 rides for UAE Team Emirates, also won the Tirreno’s points classification and best young rider classification.
German rider Phil Bauhaus won the final stage of the sea-to-sea race, a 159-kilometer (99-mile) leg that began and finished in San Benedetto del Tronto, in a sprint finish.
Giacomo Nizzolo finished second in the final stage, which was hilly at the start then flat at the finish, and Kaden Groves crossed third.
Pogačar crossed 33rd with the same time as Bauhaus.
Up next for Pogačar is the Milan-San Remo classic next Saturday.
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