In the second stage of the Italian stage race, all eyes were on the final phase, in which the riders had to tackle several steep climbs and a gravel section. Team Visma | Lease a Bike took control and ensured that Jorgenson was in a good position to start the difficult final kilometres.

Jorgenson anticipated an attack from Van der Poel in the final and the duo took a small lead over the rest. In one of the corners, Jorgenson slipped away and had to let Van der Poel go. Van Aert took the lead of the chasing group and limited the time difference with stage winner Van der Poel, Isaac del Toro and Giulio Pellizzari. 

"Compliments to the men. They rode a good race", sports director Jesper Mørkøv said. "Steven took the lead of the peloton during the day, while Tim, Filippo and Owain ensured that we started the gravel section in a good position. Matteo was where he wanted to be and was one of the few GC contenders who could keep up with Mathieu."

"Unfortunately, Matteo lost grip and slid out in the corner. That was a real shame. After that, it was a matter of trying to limit the damage. Wout did a great job of keeping the gap to the leaders as small as possible. Matteo is in seventh place in the GC at 31 seconds from Del Toro, so anything is still possible."