Ayuso lifts Neptune's trident after winning Tirreno-Adriatico race

SAN BENEDETTO DEL TRONTO, Italy (AP) — Spanish cyclist Juan Ayuso secured overall victory in the weeklong Tirreno-Adriatico race on Sunday, with Jonathan Milan winning the bunch sprint to take the final stage of “The Race of the Two Seas.”

Ayuso had taken the lead from Filippo Ganna on Saturday, with a superb solo attack to triumph atop the hardest mountain stage of the race, and he finished safely in the peloton in San Benedetto del Tronto to get his hands on one of cycling’s most distinctive trophies – after finishing runner-up last year.

The giant trophy of the sea-to-sea race is shaped like Neptune’s three-pronged trident.

Ganna, who had slipped to third the previous day, managed to move up to second after picking up an intermediate time bonus. The Italian ended the race 35 seconds behind Ayuso and just one second ahead of compatriot Antonio Tiberi.

Milan — another Italian — beat Sam Bennett by a wheel in the bunch sprint for the line, with Olav Kooij third.

Paul Magnier crashed just behind them, while fighting for position, bringing down a number of other cyclists.

It was Milan’s second stage win in this year’s Tirreno-Adriatico, matching last year’s tally, where he also won the final stage.

The 147-kilometer stage (91-mile) started in Porto Potenza Picena and included two climbs before finishing with five laps of a flat, 15-kilometer circuit along the seafront.

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AP cycling: https://apnews.com/hub/cycling