An 11km climb to Sassotet for a summit finish was not a good day for Mathieu van der Poel's skills, but the Alpecin-Phoenix leader went into the break on stage 5 of Tirreno-Adriatico.

The Dutch road race champion, along with nine other riders in the race's "queen stage," jumped out of the peloton in the opening kilometers and stayed away for most of the 202-km stage.

Of course, there was no ambition to win on a day when Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) led the stage and the race. Rather, Van der Pol's break time was part of his form building for his future goals: the "spring" classics, which begin with Flèche Wallonne on September 30.

"My own level is fine, although I'm not in top form yet," he said. 'But it's good enough. This race will give me the strength I need to give 100% in the Classic."

"It was a tough ride today. Joining the breakaway group in the early stages wasn't bad. There was a lot of climbing and the last climb was too tough to compete with the others. I wanted to be in a good group to race the climbs. It worked out well."

Van der Pol spent the first two stages of the race riding for Alpecin-Phoenix sprinters Jonas Ricard (7th on stage 1) and Tim Merlier (5th on stage 2), and on stage 3 to Saturnia, he was 33 seconds behind stage winner Michael Woods ( EF Pro Cycling) in 12th place, 33 seconds behind. Stage 5, however, was the first stage in which van der Pol led the race.

"I haven't won a stage yet, but I will continue to fight for stage wins," he said. The last few days have been very hot, but not too bad."

"I'm in good shape. It's a tough course and there are a lot of good climbers here. They are preparing for the Giro d'Italia, so the level is high.

The 25-year-old said he could be in contention for stage wins in the remaining stages, including a flat sprint in Senigallia, a hilly stage to the hilltop town of Loreto, and the traditional 10km time trial in San Benedetto del Toronto.

The victory would be his first since the Tour of Britain a year ago, excluding his win at the All-Japan Championships. But that is not all. He did not mention the possibility of competing in the World Championships in Imola later this month, but there are bigger goals ahead.

"I'm still trying to win a stage," he said. 'It could be Saturday, but it's too tricky, especially after the hard stage on Friday. Either way, I'll be riding with the team over the next few days."