Pedersen stays just in front of Aert and wins first Giro stage, loss of time Arensman

Mads Pedersen has won the first stage of the Giro d’Italia. The Deen of Lidl-Trek remained in front of the final sprint and will be in the pink leader’s jersey tomorrow.

The Dutchman Thymen Arensman, who has ambitions in the rankings, had to release before the final sprint. He lost more than a minute and a half.

The Giro starts this year with three stages in Albania. Today was the start in Durrës and the finish in the capital Tirana.

With three categorized climbs in the second part of the stage it was not made easy for the real sprinters. That was already apparent at the first of two passages about the Surrel (4.9 km to 5%, with the top 33 kilometers from the finish).

Olav Kooij, the sprinter of Visma that has just recovered from a collarbone fracture, quickly dropped out. Just like Sprinters such as Kaden Groves, Sam Bennett and eventually Rick Pluimers.

It was mainly Giulio Ciccone, the teammate of Pedersen, who, after the preliminary work of Daan Hoole Heuvelop, let everyone gasp. There was another fifty man in the front. Van Aert was also there, who threatened to fall behind Ciccone on the back.

Shortly before the finish, that first group became even smaller, due to a fall with Mikel Landa as the main victim. The Spaniard, one of the candidates for the stage, left the race in an ambulance.

In the final sprint, Pedersen was fantasticly dropped off by Mathias Vacek. It gave Pedersen the victory, he said shortly after the finish. “Exactly what you saw on TV, that was our plan. As loudly as possible on the climbing and then winning in the sprint.”

“It is not a fact that I can win with Wout van Aert in the group. You have to respect that. But today I had the legs to finish the work of the team.”