'That was the exact plan' - Mads Pedersen out-sprints Wout van Aert to take victory and pink jersey on stage 1 of the Giro d'Italia
Lidl-Trek rider took advantage of his team's control over the final climbs of the day to seize race lead
Mads Pedersen sprinted to victory on the opening stage of the Giro d'Italia in Tirana, taking the first pink jersey of the race in the process. The Dane pipped Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) on the line.
The Lidl-Trek rider had been put in the perfect position by his team on both the final climbs of the race and into the final corner, and managed to hold off Van Aert in the closing metres. Orluis Aular (Movistar) finished third.
A hectic lap around Tirana saw the pure sprinters drop out of contention and multiple general classification hopefuls lose time on a dramatic opening day, but Pedersen held on to take the win. Such was the speed of the finale that the top 10 was a mix of puncheurs and GC riders.
Lidl-Trek put the pace down on the front of the peloton both times up the climb of Surrel, which was tackled twice in the closing 50km of the stage, which led to Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Sam Bennett (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) and Olav Kooij (Visma-Lease a Bike) all slipping out of the back of the peloton.
Derek Gee (Israel-Premier Tech) and Thymen Arensman (Ineos Grenadiers) were both dropped from the lead group, with the pair both losing over a minute on general classification on the opening day.
"This is my favourite stage now," Pedersen said on television after his win. "To win the stage and go in the pink jersey it’s absolutely amazing, especially after teamwork like this. It’s incredible that the team worked that hard and I can pay back with a win."
"Like we did, you can see it on TV," Pedersen responded when asked what the strategy had been. "That was the exact plan, to push really hard on the climbs, make it a small group, and then a sprint at the end."
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
"You always have to be afraid of Wout van Aert, he’s a really, really good bike rider," he added, talking about his rival. "It’s not a given to win when he’s in the group. You have to handle that with respect and a bit of fear as well. Today, I had the legs to finish it off for the team."
"That’s the first leader’s jersey that I have in a Grand Tour, so that’s nice," the Dane concluded.
"In the stage I didn’t feel good actually, but there are only a few opportunities to take the pink jersey, so that’s why I really wanted to try," Van Aert told Eurosport. "On the last climb I suffered so much to just hang on, so yeah, it was a pity to finish in second place, but it’s better than I expected."
The opening stage of the 108th Giro d’Italia set off from Durrës, Albania, marking the first time the Italian Grand Tour had visited the Balkan country.
Despite three classified climbs on the first day it was thought likely that it would end in a sprint, with Olav Kooij (Visma-Lease a Bike), Sam Bennett (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) and Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) among the favourites.
A break went incredibly early in the day, with Sylvain Moniquet (Cofidis), Taco van der Hoorn (Intermarché-Wanty), Alessandro Tonelli (Team Polti VisitMalta), Manuele Tarozzi (VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè) and Alessandro Verre (Arkéa-B&B Hotels) escaping up the road within the first 5km.
The break wasn’t allowed too much leeway, with the gap back to the peloton hovering under two minutes for much of the day; the sprint teams were not leaving the catch up to chance.
The first intermediate sprint of the day was not contested by the break, with Tonelli breezing over in first place to take 12 points for the points classification, followed by Van der Hoorn, Tarozzi, Moniquet then Verre.
At the second, in Elbasan, Tarozzi took the honours from Moniquet, then Verre, Tonelli and Van der Hoorn.
With 91km to go, one of the overall favourites for the race, Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) was involved in an innocuous crash which saw him require a bike change; Max Poole (Picnic PostNL) was also involved, but the pair were soon back in the peloton.
The first classified climb of the race was Gracen, 12.9km at 5.2%, which was crested first by Moniquet, who took 18 points in the king of the mountains competition; he was followed by Verre, Tonelli, Tarozzi, Van der Hoorn and then Lorenzo Fortunato (XDS Astana), all of who claimed points. On the descent, Van der Hoorn was caught by the peloton.
Verre and Tonelli attempted to escape the escape with 66km to go, with Verre then going alone, but the attack did not last for long.
The Red Bull KM, the new addition to this year’s Giro, was won by Tarozzi, who gained bonus seconds overall as a result. However, there was not long left for the break.
With 40km to go, as the race came onto the local circuit in Tirana, the breakaway was swallowed by the peloton, with the pace high on the climb of Surrel - 7km at 4.4% - a third category affair, which was set to be tackled twice.
Lidl-Trek with Daan Hoole was on the front of the bunch, with Mads Pedersen in second wheel, shadowed by Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike).
The climb put paid to some sprinter’s hopes, with Bennett and Kooij among those dropped on Surrel, along with Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step), opening up the day for a less pure fastman like Van Aert and Pedersen.
The first over the top of the first ascent of climb was Fortunato, who moved up to second overall on the virtual leaderboard.
Groves was the next pure sprinter to be dropped from the peloton, with the second ascent of Surrel proving too steep for many in the peloton. The GC contenders, as well as stage hopefuls, were ever-present at the front. However, Thymen Arensman (Ineos Grenadiers) slipped off the back, not a good sign for his GC chances.
Van Aert looked briefly to be in trouble, but managed to maintain his position in the lead group. Over the top, Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) took the KOM points, ensuring Moniquet would lead the classification on stage two. A small gap opened up in the bunch, with Derek Gee (Israel-Premier Tech) over 20 seconds back on the lead group.
On the descent, there were around 50 riders left at the front of the race, including Pedersen and Van Aert.
A crash on the technical descent saw Mikel Landa (Soudal Quick-Step) off his bike and hurt, with Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) also involved.
At the front of the race, Nicola Conci (XDS Astana) attempted to launch an attack, which came to little. At the front, Lidl-Trek, Visma-Lease a Bike and Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe attempted to keep things under control.
Lidl-Trek led things into the final corner, with Pedersen hoping for victory, he was trailed by Van Aert. Pedersen opened things up first, and Van Aert could not close the gap, having to settle for second on the line.
1. Mads Pedersen (Den) Lidl-Trek, in 3:26:24
2. Wout van Aert (Bel) Visma-Lease a Bike
3. Orluis Aular (Ven) Movistar
4. Francesco Busatto (Ita) Intermarché-Wanty
5. Tom Pidcock (GBr) Q36.5 Pro Cycling
6. Diego Ulissi (Ita) XDS Astana
7. Richard Carapaz (Ecu) EF Education-EasyPost
8. Max Poole (GBr) Picnic PostNL
9. Nicola Conci (Ita) XDS Astana
10. Davide Piganzoli (Ita) Polti VisitMalta, all at same time
1. Mads Pedersen (Den) Lidl-Trek, in 3:26:24
2. Wout van Aert (Bel) Visma-Lease a Bike, +4s
3. Orluis Aular (Ven) Movistar, +6s
4. Francesco Busatto (Ita) Intermarché-Wanty, +10s
5. Tom Pidcock (GBr) Q36.5 Pro Cycling
6. Diego Ulissi (Ita) XDS Astana
7. Richard Carapaz (Ecu) EF Education-EasyPost
8. Max Poole (GBr) Picnic PostNL
9. Nicola Conci (Ita) XDS Astana
10. Davide Piganzoli (Ita) Polti VisitMalta, all at same time