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At 1.50pm the 107th edition of the Giro d’Italia officially kicked off with a 140km stage starting from Venaria Reale and arriving in Turin.
In between also a passage on the Superga hill, on the day of the 75th anniversary of the Grande Torino tragedy, which President Cairo’s club wanted to remember with a celebratory t-shirt worn by the Granata in the match against Bologna on Friday evening.
A first stage that was very reminiscent of the route of a classic with several ups and downs and three climbs along the route, for a total of 1,850 meters of altitude difference. After an initial 3km climb with an average gradient of 5%, we moved on, as mentioned, to Superga for the second GPM of the day for an 8km climb at a 4.2% gradient. About thirty kilometers from the finish line the hardest climb, that of Colle Maddalena, 7 km at 7%, with maximum peaks reaching 11%, appetizer of what was the last asperity of the day: the long San Vito wall 1.4 kilometers and an average gradient of 9.4%.
Greatly awaited on the eve, the Slovenian and contemporary cycling phenomenon Tadej Pogacar, indicated by all the experts as well as by bookmakers as the big favorite for the day’s victory.
For most of the day, a sextet composed of Louis Barré, Nicolas Debeaumarché, Andrea Pierobon, Filippo Fiorelli, Lilian Calmejane and Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier were on the run. About sixty kilometers from the finish line the brawl breaks out at the head of the race with a repeated series of sprints that leave Barré and Debeaumarché behind.
On the subsequent sprint by the Eritrean Ghebreigzabhier, the two Italian riders also lose the wheels of the leading group while Calmejane holds firm, taking advantage of his experience and thus manages to get back on the wild Lidl-Trek rider, with whom the climb of the Maddalena begins.
Meanwhile behind, at the first passage on the San Vito wall, the group of the best recovers for more than a minute thanks to the push of UAE Emirates, Pogacar’s team, intent on mending the gap to compete for the success of the stage. Much of the credit goes to the amazing Novak and the time trial specialist Bjerg.
The group, thanks to the pace set by the two runners, arrives at the foot of the Maddalena with just over a minute behind the fugitives and with many men, the fast wheels first and foremost, who have already lost ground.
Calmejane, 3 km from the summit of Maddalena, lengthens his pace and breaks away from his breakaway companion, flying alone towards the GPM. In the group, however, several riders lose the wheels of the best including highly anticipated men such as Arensman, Bardet, Luke Plapp and the young Lipowitz.
10 km from the finish, the last pacesetter of the day was caught by a small group of counterattackers who had gained an advantage in the kilometers of descent. Among them also the expert Italian runner, Damiano Caruso who wins the sprint to the flying finish line.
The leading group on San Vito is literally overtaken at double speed by Pogacar, followed closely by the Ecuadorian rider from Ineos, Jhonatan Narvaez, and the German from Bora-Hansgrohe, Schachmann. Raising his arms to the sky is precisely the Ecuadorian runner who will thus wear the first pink jersey of this edition of the Giro d’Italia, beating the other two riders in a tight sprint. About ten seconds behind, the group of the best. The French Romain Bardet and the Dutch Thymen Arensman were decidedly further behind.
Those who expected Tadej Pogacar to be an immediate protagonist were satisfied… the Italian Antonio Tiberi did well as did some of the most anticipated men on the eve, even if – as mentioned – there was no shortage of surprises. But with 20 more stages still to go, everything is yet to be decided…
