BMC's van Avermaet held the lead going into the ITT, and despite a strong time from 3rd placed Peter Sagan (TNK), van Avermaet managed to post a time seven seconds slower than Sagan, but crucially, not enough to overhaul his overnight lead of eight seconds over the Slovakian.
In contrast with early-race time trials being fairly sedate affairs, with many riders unwilling to extend themselves too much, this final stage TT meant that every rider knew they could leave everything on the road, especially those in the hunt for overall victory, making it a fittingly dramatic finish to an unusual edition of the Tirreno-Adriatico.
The time trial specialists all rode early on, Johan Le Bon (FDJ) setting an early time of 11 minutes 21, that proved to be a very strong one. Former world champion Tony Martin (EQS) was only able to go second behind Le Bon, two seconds down.
Cancellara set off around mdiway through the day, and Spartacus set off at a good pace and never looked back. He passed two riders in the 11:08 it took him to finish the course, crossing the line some 13 seconds ahead of the impressive Le Bon, setting a time that never looked remotely under threat.
@MarcoColedan
With all other jerseys already secured, the race for the GC's maglia azzurra became the focus. Vincenzo Nibali was the first of the top 10 to go, and effectively set the benchmark for the GC contenders. He set a solid 11:34, but one unlikely to trouble the podium. FDJ's two riders in contention, Sebastien Reichenbach and Thibaut Pinot, both set 11:35s, which left them on the same overall time, and with Reichenbach in the virtual lead with five left to finish.
Gianluca Brambilla (EQS) never really troubled the timekeepers, but his teammate Bob Jungels was tipped by many as having a real chance to take the overall win. A competent time triallist, he was only able to set a disappointing 11:41, still enough to go ahead of the FDJ duo, but needing everyone ahead of him to go over 12 minutes to remain top.
Longtime Zdenek Stybar obliged, clocking a 12:02 that dropped him below Nibali, while Peter Sagan, who went before Stybar, came out all guns blazing for an unlikely GC win, finishing in 11:32, the best of the last 19 riders.
Setting off just 4 minutes after Sagan, van Avermaet was already a third of the way along the course when Sagan finished. The initial time gap showed him as 2 seconds behind, but another few km later he was 5, then 6 seconds off, with just 8 in hand.
As he entered the final stretch, van Avermaet was clocked 7 seconds behind, but managed to just match Sagan's pace, crossing the line in 11:39, enough to win the General Classification by a solitary second.
@TirrenAdriatico
Stage results
1. Fabian Cancellara (TFS) 11:08
2. Johan Le Bon (FDJ) + :13
3. Tony Martin (EQS) + :15
General Classification final standings
1. Greg van Avermaet (BMC) 20:42;22
2. Peter Sagan (TNK) + :01
3. Bob Jungels (EQS) + :23
4. Sebastien Reichenbach (FDJ) + :24
5. Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) + :24
6. Vincenzo Nibali (AST) + :29
7. Zdenek Stybar (EQS) + :33
8. Michal Kwiatkowski (SKY) + :39
9. Bauke Mollema (TFS) + :45
10. Roman Kreuziger (TNK) + :48
Climber Classification final standings
1. Cesare Benedetti (BOA) 112. Federico Zurlo (LAM) 10
3. Valerio Conti (LAM) 8
Points Classification final standings
1. Peter Sagan (TNK) 36
2. Greg van Avermaet (BMC) 22
3. Zdenek Stybar (EQS) 20
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