Giro d'Italia 2025, the first pink jersey belongs to Mads Pedersen
Danish Lidl-Trek rider Mads Pedersen sprinted to victory on the first stage of Giro d’Italia edition number 108 that started in Albania, the 160-kilometer Durrës-Tirana, and is the first pink jersey of our country’s most beloved and popular cycling race. Beaten in the final sprint Belgian Wout Van Aert of Visma-Lease a Bike.
The first to attempt a breakaway were five riders-Alessandro Verre (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), Sylvain Moniquet (Cofidis), Taco Van der Hoorn (Intermarché-Wanty), Alessandro Tonelli (Polti VisitMalta) and Manuele Tarozzi (VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè), the latter being the first to sprint shortly after the start and then being caught by the others.
The advantage of the quintet remained almost always between one and two minutes, and on the first climb, the Gracen, 13 km of second-category at 777 meters above sea level, a sprint by Tonelli caused Van der Hoorn to give way, and at the summit it was Moniquet who passed first ahead of Verre, Tonelli and Tarozzi. On the descent, Wout Van Aert’s Visma pulls the peloton at breakneck speed to retake the escapees ahead of KM Red Bull, placed at Sauk with 48 km to go.
When the peloton came within 13 seconds of the outriders Verre stretched out on the descent and dragged the other three survivors behind and the peloton suddenly stopped chasing them and at the flying finish line that awards 6, 4 and 2 second bonuses Tarozzi passed first ahead of Tonelli and Verre. Shortly after, the escapees are reabsorbed and we enter the final circuit of Tirana, 22 km to be covered twice with the double climb of Surrel, a third-category GPM, 454 meters of altitude and just under 5 km of climbing.
On the first summit passage Lorenzo Fortunato (XDS Astana) transits first ahead of Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious). The second passage is placed 11.3 km from the finish and on the final climb the forcing of Giulio Ciccone in favor of Pedersen, his teammate in the Lidl-Trek, puts Van Aert on the ropes who resists with difficulty, the Abruzzese at the top precedes the Dane and the other Lidl-Trek Matthias Vacek. On the descent Mikel Landa falls, confirming his difficult relationship with Lady Luck that has characterized his entire career.
It was Vacek himself who pulled the sprint for Pedersen, who resisted Van Aert’s return and took the first lead of the Gio. In third place was Venezuelan Orlis Aular (Movistar), fourth the first Italian, Francesco Busatto (Intermarché-Wanty) ahead of Tom Pidcock (Q36.5), Diego Ulissi (XDS Astana) and Richard Carapaz (EF Educational-EasyPost). For Pedersen, world champion in 2019, it’s the second stage win at the Giro after the one in Naples two years ago. Tomorrow is already quite serious with a time trial starting and finishing in Tirana with the Sauk, a fourth-category climb.
