Sagan sprints to 2nd stage win, Quintana leads Tirreno

FERMO, Italy (AP) — World champion Peter Sagan sprinted to another victory in the Tirreno-Adriatico race, while Nairo Quintana retained the overall lead after the fifth stage on Sunday.

Sagan, who was also fastest on Friday, edged out Thibaut Pinot and Primoz Roglic on the narrow, cobbled climb to the finish of the 210-kilometer (130-mile) ride from Rieti to Fermo

Bora-Hansgrohe's Sagan worked his way back up to the front bunch with 2 kilometers left and easily won out of a group made up largely of riders targeting overall victory.

"It was crazy. It looked like there was no tomorrow. The peloton went so fast," Sagan said. "I'm very happy with my win today. It wouldn't have happened without (Rafal) Majka, who pulled a lot.

"After the climbers attacked, luckily there was a bit of flat road that allowed me to come across and sprint for the win."

Several riders were dropped on the short, steep climbs in the second half of the route.

Quintana stretched his lead slightly and is 50 seconds ahead of Pinot, who moved into second, and 1:06 ahead of Rohan Dennis.

Adam Yates was second, 33 seconds behind Quintana, before pulling out with an apparent illness with around a third of the race left.

Monday's penultimate stage is a 168-kilometer (104-mile) leg from Ascoli Piceno to Civitanova Marche.

The route has been altered because of the condition of some roads and will now pass through Pollenza, where riders face the final categorized climb of the race.

The race finishes Tuesday.