‘The first sprint I’ve won in my career’ – Matteo Jorgenson snatches second overall at Tirreno-Adriatico but concedes ‘Del Toro was stronger at every turn’
Matteo Jorgenson conceded that there was little more he could have done to beat Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) at Tirreno Adriatico, after moving up to second overall on the final day thanks to a perfectly executed intermediate sprint by his Visma-Lease a Bike team.
Del Toro took the blue jersey and trident trophy by 40 seconds over Jorgenson, with the US rider overtaking Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe) with the three seconds he gained at the sprint. He lost the majority of his deficit on the second stage after crashing in the gravel section, but having also lost time to the Mexican during the time trial and yesterday’s uphill finish, Jorgenson had few regrets.
“No, I’m really happy with second place in the end. We came here to win, for sure. I would have really liked to win that trident, but Del Toro man, he was stronger than me at every turn, even in the time trial, so there was no place I could come around him,” he told CyclingProNet.
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“I’m really happy with second place. Isaac was stronger on every finish we had together. I think second place was the best I could do.”
Jorgenson can give some thanks to Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Premier Tech) for single-handedly bringing back the early three-man breakaway with a brutal 30km of pacing on the front, which allowed Visma to get in line and lead out the American with Wout van Aert acting as last man.
“I think it was the first ever sprint I’ve won in my whole career. We did a good job. Thankfully, it wasn’t up to us to bring the race back together, but it all came back together before the sprint, and I’m really happy with how we played it,” he said.
“All the guys were committed, and we took the initiative from the front, and in the end, I couldn’t really mess it up after a lead-out like that from Wout.
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“I think in a race like this, the bonus seconds are really important, and this week I missed some opportunities, so it was nice on the last day to get it right and just have a nice final day. It was the one thing we could do today, and it all came together pretty well, so I’m really happy.”
Jorgenson joined an elite club of US riders with his podium finish at Tirreno-Adriatico, the first to manage the feat since Chris Horner in 2012 and third-ever after Greg LeMond in 1982.
Continuing on from his strong start to the season, having finished in the top four of the Faun Drôme and Faun Ardèche Classics, and eighth at Strade Bianche already, Jorgenson will race next at Milan-San Remo, before heading to altitude and focusing on the Ardennes, having shifted his calendar away from the cobbled Classics for 2026.