Tadej Pogachar followed Remco Evenpole and Jonas Vingegaard on the descent with 6km to go in stage 5, but took a wrong turn and was unable to make it two wins in a row on Tirreno-Adriatico.

However, he never let up and recovered to close the gap on the overall contenders and maintain his overall lead before Saturday's decisive stage over Monte Carpeña.

The last 30km to Fermo was a steep climb known as the "Murri" through the spectacular hills of the Marche region. After a potentially decisive move by Evenpoel to launch an attack, the trio made a mistake on the descent.

They were closing in on the day's breakaway group when they suddenly hit the brakes, turned around, and had to chase to catch up with the chosen group.

Leader Warren Barguil (Arkea-Samsic) was grateful for this mistake and attacked from the breakaway to win the race solo. Barguil's lead was around 50 seconds when the trio went off route, but only 28 seconds when he held off several chasers to the finish line.

Pogachar finished sixth, with Vingegaard and Evenpole close behind. Pogachar led the Belgians by 9 seconds, with Vingegaard in fourth, 45 seconds behind.

"Lemko and Jonas, they were both going for it, and I think the result would have been different," Pogachar suggested.

"They were both really strong, they were both really strong and I was trying to go with them."

Evennempeor had the longest chase and did not stop to explain what happened, but Pogachar acknowledged that the extra chase hurt, but brushed it off.

"It was our mistake on the right corner," he admitted, "but the responsibility for choosing the right path always lies with the rider.

"It wasn't clear at all. There was a pink arrow on the right, and on the main road we could see it going right. But at our speed it was impossible to see it. We knew the right corner was coming, but we didn't know it was this corner. That moment was the worst, but then we tried to recover a little. The stage win was almost game over. My legs exploded there.

"I'm really happy to still be wearing the leader's jersey. There was an attack on the cobblestones in the city, so I tried to hold my position in front with 500 meters to go. I was surprised by the last steep climb with 200m to go, but I did my best in the last minute. I did well."

Pogachal's UAE Team Emirates teammates controlled the breakaway that included Benjamin Thomas (Cofidis) on the day. This made for a fast and hard day, but Davide Formolo and Marc Soler were in front until Evenpoel attacked.

Pogachar has taken control of the Tirreno-Adriatico before the mountainous stage of Monte Carpegna on Saturday. Monte Carpegna, a famous mountain stage that the late Marco Pantani liked to ride before major races, is only 6 km long but is particularly steep.

The first kilometer climbs at 7.2%, and the remaining 5 kilometers are at 10.4%. There are also frequent twists and turns before reaching the 1415 meter summit.

Although there is no summit finish, Calpeña is climbed twice, and the descent to the finish in the village below is also a challenge and can make a significant time difference.

Pogachar was born just months after Pantani won the Giro and Tour double in 1998, but he knows the importance of this climb and the Italian climber's career and tragic death.

"Unfortunately, I didn't get to see Pantani race live. But I knew him and watched the video, thanks to Youtube," Pogachar said.

"Tomorrow is his climb and it's pretty tough. I'm looking forward to racing on this climb. It will be a fantastic race."