Team Visma | Lease a Bike took control of the race in the closing kilometers, doing everything possible to give Kooij a shot in the sprint. Earlier this week, he had already claimed victory in the fourth stage of the Italian stage race. Now, he managed to add a podium finish to his tally in the final stage.

“We can be proud of the stage win we achieved in this race”, said sports director Marc Reef. “That was one of our goals beforehand, and we delivered. We came close in the other two sprint stages as well. Unfortunately, the overall classification didn’t turn out as we had hoped. We have to be honest about that. Realistically, this was the best we could achieve at this moment.”

Simon Yates made his debut for Team Visma | Lease a Bike in Tirreno-Adriatico. “It took me a bit of time to settle in, but I felt like I was improving every day. That’s a good sign for the upcoming period. In just over a week, the Volta a Catalunya is on the schedule. I hope to prove myself there and support the team”, said the Brit.