Race organizer RCS Sport had designed a 163-kilometer route from Cartoceto to Frontignano for the sixth and penultimate stage of the 2025 edition of the legendary Tirreno-Adriatico race, known as the Race of the Two Seas.

The general classification favorites and pure climbers were expected to shine in stage 6 as it would be contested in challenging mountain terrain and even culminate with the feared Frontignano climb, which was Beyond Category and featured climbing sections of more than eleven percent, thereby presenting an excruciating challenge for even the best climbers in the cycling peloton.

Filippo Ganna remained general classification leader for Ineos-Grenadiers before stage 6. The Italian rider was 22 seconds ahead of Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates), while Antonio Tiberi was third in the GC for Bahrain Victorious. Derek Gee was fourth. The mountainous route of stage 6 was expected to cause problems for Ganna.

Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck) courageously attacked solo early in the stage. The Dutch rider had not obtained the results he was aiming and hoping for in this race and he needed that great feeling of success before the important soon-to-come spring classics, including Paris-Roubaix, Milano-Sanremo and Ronde van Vlaanderen. Van der Poel was caught after just two kilometers.

Gianni Vermeersch (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Andrea Vendrame (Decathlon-AG2R-La Mondiale), Samuele Battistella (EF Education-EasyPost), Jasper Stuyven (Lidl-Trek), Andrea Pietrobon (Team Polti-Visit Malta), Magnus Cort (Uno-X Mobility), Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis), and Chris Hamilton (Team Picnic-PostNL) later engaged in breakaway efforts and after 25 kilometers of racing Thomas and Hamilton were 01:10 minutes ahead of the main peloton, while the other attackers were in front with a 02:50 minute advantage.

The breakaway groups eventually joined forces, and the eight optimists were 02:45 minutes ahead of the main peloton after fifty kilometers of fast racing – but with more than 110 kilometers remaining.

The eight breakaway optimists were still in front when 75 kilometers remained – they had increased their advantage to 04:30 minutes at this point. Riders from Team Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe were controlling the pace in the main peloton.

The main peloton increased its pace as the stage slowly reached its culmination. The lead of the eight riders in the breakaway was down to three minutes when forty kilometers remained of today’s struggle in the mountain territory. Riders from Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe were doing much of the hard work to reel in the attackers in time for the stage finale.

The front group was 02:20 minutes ahead of the main peloton with twenty kilometers remaining. The main peloton was slowly grinding seconds off the advantage of the frontmen. The rainy weather conditions were also influencing the racing outcome.

The advantage of the front group had been reduced to one minute six kilometers from the finish. Vermeersch, Thomas, and Vendrame had been dropped from the breakaway.

Riders were dropped from both the breakaway and main peloton when five kilometers remained. The time difference between the two groups was down to twenty seconds.

Jasper Stuyven tied his luck from the breakaway group. Magnus Cort fought hard to reel him in. 

The breakaway optimists of the day had been caught before the four-kilometer mark. 

Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates) set a hard pace. Ben Healy, Thomas Pidcock, Jai Hindley, Mikel Landa, and Valentin Paret-Peintre countered.

Ayuso accelerated and dropped several riders. He was solo with three kilometers left of the excruciating climb to the finish line of stage 6. Pidcock, Hindley, and Landa formed a chase trio.

Filippo Ganna was further back but fighting courageously to preserve his general classification lead.

Ayuso had a 24-second advantage when 1.4-kilometers remained. Derek Gee was chasing with Pidcock, Hindley, and Landa. Antonio Tiberi and Ben Healy were further behind. Ganna was fifty seconds behind.

Juan Ayuso reached the finish line in solo fashion in 04:14:02 as winner of stage 6 of Tirreno-Adriatico 2025 for UAE Team Emirates. The victory and time distance would also secure him the general classification lead in the Race of the Two Seas. Thomas Pidcock finished second for Q.36.5 Pro Cycling Team, while Jai Hindley completed the stage podium for Red Bull – Bora – Hansgrohe.

Stay tuned to Roadcycling.com for further coverage from Tirreno-Adriatico 2025.