Mathieu van der Poel won the first stage of the Giro d’Italia on Friday, taking the first pink jersey in the 105th edition of the Giro d’Italia. The 27-year-old cyclist from Alpecin-Fenix won the sprint of the first stage after 195 kilometers in the Hungarian Visegrád, leaving the Eritrean Biniam Girmay and the Spaniard Pello Bilbao behind. “It is unbelievable that after the yellow of the Tour I can now wear the pink,” says Van der Poel in a response to ANP news agency.
The flat stage of the Giro led the peloton from the capital Budapest to Visegrád. Italians Mattia Bais and Filippo Tagliani, both Drone Hopper-Androni Giocattoli riders, initially managed to stay ahead of the pack but were caught up about 15 kilometers before the finish. In the last kilometer Van der Poel sprinted for victory with Gimray. Australian Caleb Ewan also made another attempt, but crashed in the last corner after hitting the rear wheel of the Eritrean.
“I knew that good positioning would be the key to be able to win,” says Van der Poel about the last 5 kilometers of the stage. “I got boxed in a few times and it took a lot of energy to catch up with the men in front. I started my sprint and it was very exciting, because the legs were filled with lactic acid, but I am very happy.”
An individual time trial of 9.2 kilometers will follow on Saturday, with start and finish in Budapest. “We’ll see how it goes in the time trial. I’m going to try to defend the pink just like I did in the Tour,” Van der Poel refers to his time trial last year in the Tour de France, where he managed to keep the leader’s jersey. There will be another flat stage on Sunday, after which the peloton will be flown to Italy.
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