The Italian Grand Tour kicked off with a 140 km stage from Venaria Reale to Turin. On the relatively short route, the peloton had to take on two longer climbs, before a short but very steep ramp awaited in the finale.
Maximilian Schachmann demonstrated his strength and tactical skill today to be present in the decisive moments of the race.
On the final climb, Tadej Pogačar launched a determined attack, which was followed only by Jhonathan Narváez. Maximilian, who had previously initiated an attack and had gained a slight advantage, managed to follow the duo. He reached the summit just a few seconds behind Pogacar and Narvaez, who were then slightly hesitating to set the pace. Maximilian tactfully utilised the descent to close the gap, leading to a thrilling three-way sprint where he secured second place narrowly behind the Ecuadorian stage winner.
Results
Maximilian Schachmann:
"The finale started on the first passage of the San Vito climb, where the race was going incredibly fast. At the time, I thought I wouldn't survive on the longer climb, but I saw that everyone else was already on the limit. I actually expected a higher pace on the long climb, but that didn't happen. I didn't feel amazing, but I felt pretty good. After the climb, I saw that only Majka was still in the lead, ahead of Pogačar. So I thought, maybe I should just go for it! Pogačar flew by like a rocket on the climb to San Vito, and I was happy that I was able to catch back up with them shortly afterwards. I know that him and Narváez are both fast and can be really explosive, so I knew it wouldn't necessarily be easy. I'm pleased with second place, and I'm happy to be back in the mix again."
Enrico Gasparotto, Sports Director:
"For us, today’s first stage of the Giro was a good day. The riders were able to carry out the plan we made for the day. We wanted to have Max, Dani and potentially also Florian in a reduced front group. Florian didn’t have the best day, however, we know that can be expected on the first day of a Grand Tour. Max played his cards really well, as he tried to anticipate the moves, and attacked just before the last kicker and made it to the finale with only Pogačar and Narvaez. We were really close to taking the pink jersey, but chapeau to Narváez for his sprint. It’s a solid start for us."