This is the story of a 22-year-old who refuses to be surprised by anything.

On Monday, Filippo Ganna humbled the field in the time trial and Isaac del Toro lost 36 seconds. On Tuesday, the race hit gravel roads in the Tuscan hills and everything changed. Del Toro was the only GC rider who could follow Mathieu van der Poel, one of the greatest classics riders of all time, when the Dutchman attacked on the sterrato. He didn’t just follow. He sprinted for second place.

And now he wears the blue leader’s jersey.

Van der Poel launched his move the moment the road turned to gravel with 10 kilometres to go, immediately splitting the peloton. Only Del Toro and Giulio Pellizzari could respond. The three rode together to San Gimignano, where Van der Poel won the sprint. Del Toro came second, same time, and made up all 36 seconds he lost in the TT and then some.

Behind them, the stage was chaos. Thymen Arensman, who had been second overall after Stage 1, crashed on a corner and lost significant time. Matteo Jorgenson was also caught in the disorder behind. The GC standings were reshuffled completely.

Del Toro now leads Pellizzari by 21 seconds, with Roglič third at the same gap. Tiberi sits fourth at 23 seconds. The real battle comes Saturday on the Sassotetto climb — 13.1 km at 7% — where Del Toro has already shown this season he’s one of the best in the world on that kind of terrain.

He won the UAE Tour. He podiumed at Strade Bianche. Now he leads Tirreno-Adriatico. All before March 11th.

Stage 2 Results (Top 10):

GC after Stage 2:

Sources: Cyclingnews / CyclingUpToDate / Domestique Cycling