But Kämna immediately caused a sensation, attacking on the final climb a good two and a half kilometers before the finish and tearing the field apart. “It was quite spontaneous. When I realized that I was in a good position and the field came to a standstill, I thought to myself: This is a good moment to attack. It didn’t work out in the end, but it was still nice . My legs exploded out the back”said Kamna.
Caleb Ewan crashes
In any case, the competition was warned. The 2020 stage winner was caught up again 800 meters from the finish – and the expected scenario emerged with van der Poel as the winner. Similarly, the four-time World Cross Country Champion had the second stage of the Tour last year at the Mur de Bretagne won and then wore the yellow jersey for six days. “It’s incredible to get the pink jersey. It took a lot of energy to catch up with the boys in the final”, said van der Poel. The finale was overshadowed by the fall of Australian sprint star Caleb Ewan.
But there is still a lot to be expected from Kämna. The 25-year-old presented himself in top form. At the Giro he wants to go hunting for stages and help the three top riders around Emanuel Buchmann in the fight for the podium. Buchmann reached the finish line in 16th place, four seconds behind in the group of co-favourites.
On Saturday, the first of only two individual time trials is on the agenda. 9.2 kilometers have to be covered in Budapest. The Giro detour in Hungary ends on Sunday before the entourage travels to Sicily. It will continue there on Tuesday.
Source: dpa