Tobias Lund Andresen of Decathlon-CMA CGM surged to victory in a thrilling sprint finish on stage 3 of Tirreno-Adriatico on Tuesday, March 10, 2026, leaving a host of highly-regarded sprinters in his wake.
The 225-kilometer stage, stretching from Cortona to Magliano de’ Marsi, saw the Danish rider outpace Arnaud De Lie (Lotto Intermarché) and Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Premier Tech) in a rain-dappled dash to the line. This marks a significant win for Lund Andresen, who stepped up after Olav Kooij was sidelined with an injury.
“My plan was to do a long sprint,” Lund Andresen explained after the race. “Everyone has cold legs and we basically had it pretty simple in the last bit. [In] a long sprint, normally everyone can do the same when you’re really cold. So, I just wanted to be there first.”
The victory is particularly notable given the presence of top sprinters like Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek), Arnaud De Lie, Jasper Philipsen, Paul Magnier (Soudal-QuickStep) and Sam Wellsford (Ineos Grenadiers), all of whom were unable to challenge for the win. Milan, isolated during the sprint, launched an early attack but faded as the road rose towards the finish, inadvertently leading out Lund Andresen.
Lund Andresen’s impressive form this season includes a stage win at the Tour Down Under and the Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, as well as strong finishes at Omloop Nieuwsblad and Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne. The win at Tirreno-Adriatico solidifies his position as a rising star in the world of sprinting.
Earlier in the stage, Diego Pablo Sevilla (Polti VisitMalta) briefly led after a solo attack, but was eventually reeled in by the peloton. The race also featured an intermediate sprint won by Danny van Poppel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe).
Following the race, a visibly disappointed Jonathan Milan sat on the curb, contemplating his sprint’s failure, and declined to speak with reporters, heading straight to the team bus for a debriefing. This result adds intrigue to the sprint competition as Tirreno-Adriatico continues, with only two stages remaining that are expected to favor sprinters.
