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Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep) made an immediate statement as a favourite in the 2023 Giro d’Italia with a dominant win in the 19.6km individual time trial to win stage 1, and earn the first maglia rosa of the three-week Grand Tour.
The Belgian time trial champion blasted his way to the top of the leaderboard on each of the intermediate time checks on the opening flat section overlooking the Adriatic coast, then stopped the clock at 21:18 to bump João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) out of the hot seat by a full 29 seconds.
Behind Evenepoel on the course was the other race favourite, Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma), but he could not close down a significant gap on the final 5km climb and finished 43 seconds back, in sixth place. As the TT carried no time bonuses, Evenepoel’s margin over Roglič in the overall standings reflects that gap, at 43 seconds.
Italian champion Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) was the only rider from the final 10 riders remaining on the course who could match Evenepoel’s effort on the flats, but he fell short on the uphill section, 22 seconds back, to finish second and move Almeida to third in the general classification.
Behind Ganna and Almeida, Tao Geoghegan Hart (Ineos Grenadiers) had a strong ITT with a fourth-place finish but will start stage 2 a full 40 seconds off the lead pace.
Evenepoel’s punishing demonstration in the time trial not only put him in the GC lead but carved out huge dents into the times of his rivals, Roglič suffering the biggest blow with that 43-second gap, finished in the same time as time trial World Champion Stefan Küng (Groupama-FDJ).
UAE Team Emirates and Ineos Grenadiers each placed three riders in the top 10 of stage 1, with Jay Vine and Brandon McNulty of UAE Team Emireates finishing 46 and 48 seconds, respectively, back and good for seventh and eighth places in the early GC standings. Ineos’ Geraint Thomas joins Ganna and Geoghegan Hart in the top group, ninth overall at 55 seconds back. Also with a 55-second deficit is Aleksandr Vlasov (Bora-Hansgrohe) in 10th. Bruno Armirail (Groupama-FDJ), in 11th at 57 seconds back, is the only other rider from stage 1 to finish within a minute of Evenepoel.
Results
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Giro d’Italia 2023 classifications
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