The queen stage of Tirreno-Adriatico was slightly modified just before the start in Morro d’Oro as strong winds caused the final ascent to Sassotetto to be cut by 2.4 kilometers, putting the ascent over 10 kilometers rather than 13.
On the final climb, the GC riders hid themselves for a long time. Damiano Caruso was the first to try to break away and immediately opened up a gap. In the last kilometre, that gap was closed, and Wilco Kelderman took the lead of the depleted peloton.
The Dutchman pulled the sprint ahead of Roglic, who finished off the job.
“This is crazy. For me to make my comeback with two stage wins is fantastic”, Roglic said. “At the end, I asked Wilco if he wanted to keep everything together so I could have another chance to sprint. He did that perfectly.”
According to Roglic, Friday’s stage was more difficult than Thursday’s.
“I suffered a lot today. Luckily the guys pulled me through and made it possible for me to fight for the win. I’m pleased that I finished it off. I have already accomplished more than I had anticipated.”
Roglic leads the general classification by four seconds from Lennard Kamna (Bora-hansgrohe), with Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) 12 seconds back in third.
