Spanish Grand Tour contender Juan Ayuso climbed to a convincing mountaintop win on stage six of the Tirreno-Adriatico, taking a stranglehold on the overall standings on the penultimate day.

Briton Tom Pidcock finished second on the race's queen stage, 13 seconds behind Ayuso, with Jai Hindley in third, Mikel Landa in fourth, and Antonio Tiberi in fifth.

Juan Ayuso Positions Himself As Team UAE's Giro d'Italia Leader

The 22-year-old Ayuso is now likely to lead Team UAE's bid to retain the Giro d'Italia in May, a year after the team's major star, Tadej Pogacar, romped to the 2024 title.

Italian Filippo Ganna started Saturday in the overall lead after his opening-day time trial triumph gave him a 23-second advantage over Ayuso, the defending champion.

But while Ganna holds a slight edge over Ayuso in time trials, Ayuso demonstrated his climbing prowess with a powerful acceleration on the 7.7 percent gradient final climb to seize the overall lead.

"It went really well. I went for it in the last kilometer. It was tough, but I closed it out," said Ayuso.

Ayuso Leads Overall Standings Ahead Of Tirreno-Adriatico Finale

Ayuso leads Italian rider Antonio Tiberi of Bahrain Victorious by 37 seconds, with Ganna of Ineos 38 seconds back. Canada's Derek Gee of Israel-Premier Tech is fourth at 42 seconds, while Australian Jai Hindley of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe sits fifth at 53 seconds.

Pidcock's second-place finish on Saturday lifted him to sixth overall.

The final stage will be a sprint finish on the Adriatic coast at San Benedetto del Tronto, featuring a single climb midway through the 147km course.