Mathieu van der Poel from Hoogerheide won the first stage of the Tour of Italy on Friday afternoon. He will therefore be wearing pink on Saturday. The first stage was held in Hungary.
The Alpecin-Fenix cyclist won the sprint of the first stage after 195 kilometers in Visegrád ahead of Eritrean Biniam Girmay and Spaniard Pello Bilbao. It was the first ride of a triptych in Hungary.
The stage led from Budapest to Visegrád, where the finish line was drawn on a hill. An individual time trial will follow on Saturday with start and finish in the Hungarian capital. On Sunday there is another flat stage, after which the peloton is flown to Italy.
Van der Poel very happy
Mathieu van der Poel was overjoyed to have won the first pink leader’s jersey of the 2022 Giro d’Italia. “It is unbelievable that after the yellow of the Tour I can now wear the pink,” he said. “I knew that good positioning would be the key to be able to win,” Van der Poel looked back on 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 guys in front. I started my sprint and it was very exciting because the legs were filled with lactic acid, but I’m very happy.”
Paddling platoon
As expected, it took a long time before the battle for the stage victory ignited. Shortly after the start from Heroes’ Square in Budapest, two Italians had gone on an adventure.
Mattia Bais and Filippo Tagliani got a 10-minute lead from the paddling peloton, but halfway through the stage it was mainly Van der Poel’s team that ensured that that margin quickly declined.
The two Drone Hopper teammates were warmly welcomed by the massive crowd along the course until they were caught about 15 kilometers before the finish.
The Belgian Lawrence Naesen was the first to attack on the 5 kilometer long final climb. With 2 kilometers to go he was overtaken by Lennard Kämna. The German from Bora-hansgrohe was taken back in the last kilometer, however.
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