Liquigas-Cannondale riders pulled out the
stops during a key weekend in the Tirreno-Adriatico stage race across
Italy, and they came away with a pair of victories. First, powerful
Peter Sagan outsprinted a lead group to win the mountainous stage 4. One
day later, Vincenzo Nibali made a solo escape to take the stage 5
summit finish on top of Prati di Tivo.
On stage 4, the Liquigas team rode on the front for most of the day to keep the race close. The 250km route featured many climbs, but it was the final 5km that proved decisive. Sagan's teammate Nibali helped power a lead group of 5 clear from the field, but he faded slightly in the last 1000 meters. Sagan salvaged the win for Liquigas in a powerful sprint.
The next day in stage 5, Nibali left nothing to chance and attacked on the final climb. With 4km remaining, he moved clear to win the queen stage on a summit finish. In doing so, he moved within 12 seconds of the overall lead.
