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A devastatingly-strong performance by Remco Evenepoel in the opening time trial of the Giro d’Italia has seen the reigning World Champion capture his first-ever stage victory in the corsa rosa and take the leader’s pink jersey. He made a massive statement about his GC intentions all in one fell swoop.
As chance would have it, Evenepoel’s opening triumph took place just a few kilometres away from the coastal city of Pescara, where 22 years ago the previous Belgian to lead the Giro, Rik Verbrugghe, also won the opening time trial.
But on this occasion, Evenepoel has much greater ambitions than one stage victory and a brief spell in the pink jersey. And on a Giro route featuring 70 kilometres of racing against the clock, his advantage of 22 seconds over second-placed time trial specialist Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) on stage 1 augers more than well for the two longer, tougher time trials to come.
Even more importantly long-term than his advantage over Ganna, Evenepoel’s margin of 29 seconds on closest GC rival João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates), 40 seconds on 2020 Giro d’Italia winner Tao Geoghegan Hart (Ineos Grenadiers) and 46 on Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) confirms, that in the time trials at least, the Belgian is already operating on another, higher level than his key rivals.
Even Evenepoel said he was surprised by the time gaps, pointing out afterwards that “it was quite a flat TT and to ride so much faster than the others on that kind of course is not that easy.
“I would have been happy with 15 seconds, so to have 30 seconds or more is amazing. It’s always better to start with an advantage, so I’m coming away with only positive feelings.
“It was a course, though, that suited me very well: straight and flat with a short bump in the finale, I knew I had to take as much advantage as possible on the others and we did it very well.”
Already a winner of a Grand Tour time trial in Alicante in the Vuelta a España last year, eight months later Evenepoel looked completely on track for a second such victory almost from the moment he rolled down the start ramp. Confirmation that his assured, rock-steady position on the bike could see some top results first came when he pulverized Geraint Thomas’ (Ineos Grenadiers) best time at the first intermediate time check by a jaw-dropping 20 seconds.
The Belgian went from strength to strength and did not appear to make a single mistake, barely lowering his speed as he blasted through the chicane…
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