Jonas Vingegaard wins Tirreno-Adriatico while Matteo Jorgenson triumphs at Paris-Nice
- Published
Jonas Vingegaard will aim to become only the ninth man have to win three Tour de France titles this year
Tour de France champion Jonas Vingegaard took overall victory at the Tirreno-Adriatico race, while Matteo Jorgenson triumphed at Paris-Nice.
Denmark's Vingegaard, 27, ended Italy's seven-stage race one minute and 24 seconds ahead of Spain's Juan Ayuso.
American Jorgenson, 24, finished behind Remco Evenepoel on the final stage of Paris-Nice, beating the Belgian to overall victory by 30 seconds.
Overnight leader Brandon McNulty ended the final stage fifth to take third.
American UAE Team Emirates rider McNulty began stage eight of the prestigious Paris-Nice with a four-second advantage over Jorgenson, while Evenepoel trailed by 36 seconds in fourth.
But Jorgenson, of Team Visma-Lease a Bike, followed Evenepoel's decisive attack with more than 40km remaining to become the first American to win the race since 2006.
Soudal-Quick Step's Evenepoel, the 2022 Vuelta a Espana winner who will race the Tour de France for the first time this year, took the stage win in a final sprint to the line.
"To be honest, I never expected to win Paris-Nice. Until this year, I never thought it was possible. But here we are," Jorgenson said.
"It couldn't have gone any better today, and the whole week. It hasn't really sunk in yet to be honest.
"I could barely sleep last night, I was so nervous and felt - for the first time in my life - pressure. To have it come together like that, and to ride in with such a champion like Remco, it was just a really special moment."
In San Benedetto del Tronto, on the Adriatic coast, Vingegaard completed a successful week for Team Visma-Lease a Bike.
Vingegaard finished Sunday's flat stage safely in the peloton to clinch the Maglia Azzurra, having established a commanding lead over closest challenger Ayuso by winning Saturday's mountainous queen stage on Monte Petrano.
With two stage wins Vingegaard said it had been "a perfect week for the team" and, ominously for his rivals, the two-time Tour de France champion has claimed he is "in better shape than last season at this time".
Australian Jai Hindley completed the podium at Tirreno-Adriatico, one minute and 52 seconds behind Vingegaard.
Italian 23-year-old Jonathan Milan of Team Lidl-Trek sprinted to victory on the final stage on home soil, holding off Alexander Kristoff and Davide Cimolai.
The first Grand Tour race of the year, the Giro d'Italia, begins on 4 May.