Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott), after his solo victory on stage 5, joined the overall contenders in Tirreno-Adriatico.

The summit finish in Sassottetto was the final mountain test of the Italian race with a sprint, classic stage, and time trial remaining. Yates moved up in the standings and into the leader's jersey with this victory, but only 16 seconds behind Rafal Mayka (Bora-Hansgrohe) and 39 seconds ahead of Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers).

Yates readily admitted that the race against the clock was not his "strong suit" and that the 10km final stage would be a major hurdle in his quest for the trifecta trophy on Monday.

"Today was a big chance to win the jersey and I needed a good buffer to make up time in the time trial on the last day.

"I'm very wary of this race because I know it's going to be won or lost by a few seconds.

On stage 5, the racers approached the toughest gradient of the Sassottet, with the GC favorites looking to test the mettle of their rivals. With race leader Michael Woods isolated, Yates seized the opportunity with 4.5km to go. Unlike his fellow rivals, Yates held his advantage and then built on it, aided by the chaos in the pack.

In the end, Yates finished 35 seconds ahead of Thomas and Majka, with newcomer Alexandre Vlasov another 4 seconds behind.

"It was a really good day. The team did a great job and I knew from yesterday that I had good legs.

"The pace of EF Pro Cycling and Astana Pro Cycling was already fast. Majka attacked and the show began. I knew right away that there was a gap, so I opened the gas pedal to full throttle."