French sprinter Paul Magnier secured the biggest victory of his burgeoning career by winning the opening stage of the Giro d'Italia, taking the prestigious pink jersey in a chaotic finale marred by a massive crash.
Crash Decimates Sprint Field
A heavy crash approximately 600 metres from the finish line brought down around 15 riders across the full width of the road, leaving only 11 competitors in contention for the stage win. Magnier, riding for Soudal-QuickStep, expertly followed the wheel of Tobias Lund Andresen before surging past him in the final metres, narrowly beating the Dane and Britain's Ethan Vernon to the line in Burgas, Bulgaria. Home favourite Jonathan Milan, a multiple Giro stage winner, finished fourth.
The 22-year-old Magnier will wear the leader's pink jersey, known as the maglia rosa, on stage two, the second of three days in Bulgaria. The country is hosting the race's Grande Partenza for the first time. His 10 bonus seconds for the stage win put him four seconds ahead of Lund Andersen in the general classification, with breakaway rider Manuele Tarozzi also four seconds behind after collecting six bonus seconds at the Red Bull Kilometre.
Magnier's Reaction
An elated Magnier said: "I'm so proud of the team and also my performance. It was really hectic in the final because it was a pretty easy day so everybody was really fresh. Then I was in a really good position, we knew the narrow road in the final would be tricky, so we tried to get in a good position. Then in the final, [teammates] Jasper [Stuyven] and Dries [Van Gestel] did an amazing job and I could finish it off, so I'm super proud."
He added: "There are a lot of sprinters here at the start, and it was the first time that I could sprint against these big sprinters, and I'm super happy I can beat them with a team performance."
Magnier previously wore the maglia rosa at the under-23 version of the Giro and noted: "I have some nice memories already with the pink jersey at the Giro Next Gen and now I think I will enjoy it too at the Giro d'Italia."
Crash Aftermath
Sprinters Kaden Groves and Dylan Groenewegen were among those caught out in the crash. Groves was pictured with road rash and a badly ripped skinsuit as he crossed the line, while Groenewegen appeared to be nursing a wrist injury. Groves' Alpecin-PremierTech team confirmed he had undergone a medical check and "seems okay". As the incident occurred in the closing kilometres, no riders will lose time according to UCI regulations. The favourites for overall victory, including Visma-Lease a Bike's Jonas Vingegaard, all finished on the same time, although it is not yet known if any were caught up in the crash.
Uno-X Mobility's Erlend Blikra, who was the first to fall, told TNT Sports: "I just clipped my front wheel. I don't know if it was anybody's mistake. It was really easy the whole day, so I think everybody was super fresh in the end, and that just makes it more hectic."
Stage Profile and Next Stage
The 109th edition of the race began with a flat and largely uneventful stage along Bulgaria's Black Sea coast, starting in Nessebar and travelling 147 kilometres to Burgas, until the chaotic finale. The race continues with a punchy, hilly second stage on Saturday, starting in Burgas and finishing after 221 kilometres in Veliko Tarnovo.
