The 106th Giro d’Italia started with a disappointment for the German time trial champion Lennard Kämna. The German hopeful only finished 22nd.
Lennard Kämna squeezed out of his German championship jersey and gasped for air as he rolled out. At the start of his Giro d’Italia project, the German hopeful clearly missed the targeted place in the top ten.
The 26-year-old had to settle for 22nd place in the opening time trial. On the 19.6 kilometers from Fossacesia Marina to Ortona, Kämna already lost 1:23 minutes to the outstanding road world champion Remco Evenepoel, who won the first pink jersey.
Kämna: “Was far away from catastrophe”
Kämna himself was satisfied with his performance: “A solid performance on a hard but also beautiful course. It wasn’t an absolute highlight, but it wasn’t bad either. Solid I would say. It’s been tough, long straight ahead. You couldn’t catch your breath”said Kämna and added: “The confidence is definitely there. It was only the first stage and it was far from a catastrophe. Everything is still okay.”
Sports director Jens Zemke hinted that Kämna “a bit shaky the last few days” was. “He didn’t go through the full training program. He stayed at the hotel yesterday.”explained Zemke.
Kämna had set the goal of the top ten both for the first time trial and for the overall ranking. The former junior world champion, who had already celebrated day victories in the Tour de France (2020) and the Giro (2022) in the high mountains as a stage hunter, is tackling the overall ranking for the first time this year.
Evenepoel even distances time trial world champions
Meanwhile, Evenepoel was in a different league, even beating two-time time trial world champion Filippo Ganna from Italy by 22 seconds. “I’m super happy. This is the ideal return to the Giro”said Evenepoel, who two years ago abandoned his first attempt at the world’s second largest tour after 17 stages.
In the duel between the two stars, the Belgian also dealt a heavy blow to his Slovenian rival Primoz Roglic. The 23-year-old exceptional driver already took 43 seconds off Roglic. So the Slovenian has to attack in the mountains, after all, two more time trials are waiting for the professional cyclists.
For fellow favorite Roglic, who now wants to conquer the pink jersey after his third place in 2019, the Giro started extremely badly. A total of five helpers had to be replaced in advance.
Flat second stage over 202 kilometers
On Sunday, the sprinters can hope for a mass finish on the flat second stage over 202 kilometers from Teramo to San Salvo.