De Marchi claims breakaway success in Stans. Foss holds #TotA lead

The Italian flag shines again at the Tour of the Alps, three years after Gianni Moscon's success in Naturns/Naturno. Credit goes to Alessandro De Marchi, the 37-year-old of Team Jayco AlUla, who clinched Tuesday, April 16th’s second stage, the longest in the 2024 Tour of the Alps, covering 190.7 Km from Salurn/Salorno, in Südtirol/Alto Adige, to Stans, in Tirol.

It was a relatively long stage – for the #TotA standards, but with a manageable elevation gain: no surprise it could entice breakaway specialists. And the breakaway is undoubtedly Alessandro De Marchi’s special. It was the Italian who initiated the day’s 6-man breakaway at km 33, and then set the pace on the Gnadenwald climb, soaring solo to victory. Behind him were two of his former breakaway companion, Tirolean Patrick Gamper (Bora Hansgrohe) and Swiss Simon Pellaud (Tudor Pro Cycling). Austrian Champion Gregor Mühlberger (Movistar) led the sprint from the group of favorites to take fourth place ahead of Spaniard Joan Bou (Euskaltel Euskadi).

Tobias Foss (INEOS Grenadiers) had no trouble in keeping the GC leader’s Melinda Green Jersey, earned after Kurtinig/Cortina’s stage win.

DE MARCHI: “I RACE TO THRILL”

Alessandro De Marchi expressed his satisfaction in the post-race press conference. "I had good feelings, like I perceived it could be a sound day to try to go on the break, and this time it worked out. For a rider like me, going on the breakaway is like a necessity: it’s my way of interpreting cycling, perhaps increasingly rare in today's cycling."

"The breakaway is about courage, character, and the willingness to risk, something you don’t see as much in the newer generations. There are a few of us left to live cycling in this way: make one effort to get isn’t enough anymore to get in the right break, you need to try, try and try again.”

"At nearly 38, if this was to be my last victory, it would be just fine, but that doesn’t mean I won’t keep trying for it. I race to thrill: that’s why, even if I were eventyally caught today, I still would have gone to sleep proud and happy."

FOSS: “THE MORALE IS HIGH, WE ARE READY FOR ANOTHER TOUGH STAGE”

"It was our plan to try to set up Filippo Ganna for the stage win, " said GC leader Tobias Foss. "We knew that De Marchi was a dangerous breakaway rider, we tried to bridge the gap, but eventually it got beyond our reach, and we have focused on controlling the race.”

"Filippo was a bit disappointed that we couldn’t go for it after working so much, but that's cycling: the headwind was supposed to favor us, but it didn't work out."

"Tomorrow in Schwaz will be another demanding stage, in some ways similar to the first one in the finale. I believe offense to be the best defense, and that's how we'll try to approach the race: three more tough days are coming, and really nothing is set in stone."

HOW IT UNFOLDED

The second stage of the Tour of the Alps saw a linear, albeit very fast, start. Six riders attacked after 33 Km, Gamper (Bora), De Marchi (Jayco-AlUla), Pellaud (Tudor), Pöstlberger (Austria), Koishi, and Oka (Team UKYO). The leading group gained a nearly 5-minute advantage before the Brenner Pass/Passo del Brennero, making it hard for the peloton led by INEOS Grenadiers to chase them back, in spite of the strong headwind that chatacterized the stage.

On the Brenner climb, Japanese Oka lost contact. Soon after, his compatriot Koishi and Pöstlberger met the same fate. It was at this point that Gamper, tried his hand to go for a home victory, but De Marchi and Pellaud managed to rejoin him at the front at the foot of the Gnadenwald climb. There, the Italian rider used the steppest ramps to open a gap, and celebrate victory again after more than two years.

THE #TOTA2024 LEADERS AFTER THE SECOND STAGE

• General Classification - Green Jersey Melinda: Tobias Foss (INEOS Grenadiers)
• Points Classification - Red Jersey DAO Conad:Alessandro De Marchi (Team Jayco-Alula)
• KOM Classification - Blue Jersey Gruppo Cassa Centrale: Mattia Bais (Polti-Kometa)
• Youth Classification - White Jersey Würth: Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain-Victorious)
• Combativity Classification - Ockra Jersey Subito: Simon Pellaud (Tudor Pro Cycling Team)

TOTA STAYS IN TIROL: TOMORROW START AND FINISH IN SCHWAZ

The profile of the third stage of the Tour of the Alps (Schwaz-Schwaz, 124.8 Km, 2.360 mt elevation gain) can be distinguished into two parts. In the first, up to about km 89, the roads run along the initial slopes of the Inn valley, characterized by undulating terrain.

In the second part, however, the route changes drastically: the Weerberg and Pillberg climbs, to be faced back-to-back twice, will make the final 38 kilometers extremely demanding, reminiscent of an Ardennes classic.

TOTA ON TV: TOMORROW THE LIVE STARTS AT 12:30 CET

The start of stage 3 of Wednesday, April 16th, will be given from Schwaz at 11:15. Live TV coverage will start at 12:30 CET, with the finish expected at about 14:15.

TV: Eurosport (Europe, Pacific Asia, Central America, South America), RaiSport (Italy, San Marino, Vatican State), ORF (Austria), Equipe TV (France, Monaco, Andorra), EITB (Spain), FloSports (United State, Canada, Australia), DirecTV (Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Perù, Uruguay and Venezuela) and RTVC (Colombia).