Three days, three sprints, and an unexpected Maglia Rosa
The 109th Giro d’Italia opened not on Italian roads but on the wide Bulgarian coast, and the first three stages played out like a sprinters’ tutorial — two wins for Paul Magnier, one for a young Kazakh who had no business winning a Grand Tour stage this soon, and a maglia rosa situation that nobody quite predicted.
Stage 1 — Nessebar–Burgas, 147 km
Soudal Quick-Step controlled the finale on the Black Sea coast, and when the roads narrowed before the sprint, the crash that swept through the bunch left Magnier clear. Jasper Stuyven delivered him to the final straight, and the young Frenchman came around a field that included Jonathan Milan to take the win — and with it the pink jersey, the ciclamino, and the white in a single afternoon’s work.
“It’s a big emotion. I was already happy to start the Giro with a nice shape and a special jersey from Castelli. Now I can change it for the Maglia Rosa. Six years ago during Covid I was watching Arnaud Démare winning with the Ciclamino jersey. He sent me a message to do the same. I’m glad I did. — Paul Magnier”
Stage Result
| Pos | Rider | Time / Gap |
| 1 | Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step) | 3h21’08” — 43.851 km/h |
| 2 | Tobias Lund Andresen (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) | s.t. |
| 3 | Ethan Vernon (NSN Cycling Team) | s.t. |
General Classification
| Pos | Rider | Time / Gap |
| 1 | Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step) | — |
| 2 | Tobias Lund Andresen (Decathlon CMA CGM Team) | s.t. |
| 3 | Manuele Tarozzi (Bardiani CSF 7 Saber) | +0’04” |
Jersey Classifications
| Jersey | Classification | Leader |
| Maglia Rosa | General Classification | Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step) |
| Maglia Ciclamino | Points Classification | Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step) |
| Maglia Azzurra | Mountains Classification | Diego Pablo Sevilla (Polti VisitMalta) |
| Maglia Bianca | Best Young Rider | Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step) |
Stage 2 — Burgas–Veliko Tarnovo, 221 km
The longest stage of the Bulgarian opening block looked like another sprint on paper. Guillermo Thomas Silva tore that paper up. XDS Astana’s Christian Scaroni stayed active all day at the front, setting the tempo over the hard final kilometres, and when it came time to sprint Silva read the finish perfectly — launching at precisely the right moment to beat Florian Stork (Tudor Pro Cycling) and Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek). The pink jersey passed from Magnier to the Kazakh’s shoulders.
“I’m delighted. This is only the second stage of my first Giro d’Italia and I’m the winner. I’m speechless. I knew I came with good shape but I also knew it’s very hard to win a stage of a Grand Tour. Having won in the first few days will give us a lot of serenity. — Guillermo Thomas Silva”
Stage Result
| Pos | Rider | Time / Gap |
| 1 | Guillermo Thomas Silva (XDS Astana Team) | 5h39’25” — 39.067 km/h |
| 2 | Florian Stork (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) | s.t. |
| 3 | Giulio Ciccone (Lidl-Trek) | s.t. |
General Classification
| Pos | Rider | Time / Gap |
| 1 | Guillermo Thomas Silva (XDS Astana Team) | — |
| 2 | Florian Stork (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) | +0’04” |
| 3 | Egan Bernal (Netcompany Ineos) | +0’04” |
Jersey Classifications
| Jersey | Classification | Leader |
| Maglia Rosa | General Classification | Guillermo Thomas Silva (XDS Astana Team) |
| Maglia Ciclamino | Points Classification | Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step) |
| Maglia Azzurra | Mountains Classification | Diego Pablo Sevilla (Polti VisitMalta) |
| Maglia Bianca | Best Young Rider | Guillermo Thomas Silva (XDS Astana Team) |
Stage 3 — Plovdiv–Sofia, 175 km
Soudal Quick-Step controlled the stage from the gun, put Magnier in position with a kilometre to go, and watched him do the rest. He beat Jonathan Milan and Dylan Groenewegen (Unibet Rose Rockets) in a sprint that confirmed what Stage 1 had only suggested: Magnier belongs among the world’s best finishers. Silva stayed safe, held his four-second cushion over Stork and Bernal, and carried pink to Italy.
“I dreamt of winning two stages out of three in Bulgaria. It became a goal. The team did an amazing job — we had a plan to be in the best position with 1 km to go and that’s exactly what we did. Beating Jonathan Milan and Dylan Groenewegen means I can feel I’m among the world’s best sprinters. — Paul Magnier”
Stage Result
| Pos | Rider | Time / Gap |
| 1 | Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step) | 4h09’42” — 42.050 km/h |
| 2 | Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) | s.t. |
| 3 | Dylan Groenewegen (Unibet Rose Rockets) | s.t. |
General Classification
| Pos | Rider | Time / Gap |
| 1 | Guillermo Thomas Silva (XDS Astana Team) | — |
| 2 | Florian Stork (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) | +0’04” |
| 3 | Egan Bernal (Netcompany Ineos) | +0’04” |
Jersey Classifications
| Jersey | Classification | Leader |
| Maglia Rosa | General Classification | Guillermo Thomas Silva (XDS Astana Team) |
| Maglia Ciclamino | Points Classification | Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step) |
| Maglia Azzurra | Mountains Classification | Diego Pablo Sevilla (Polti VisitMalta) |
| Maglia Bianca | Best Young Rider | Guillermo Thomas Silva (XDS Astana Team) |
Diego Pablo Sevilla leads the mountains classification unchallenged and looks unlikely to be troubled by sprinters for it. The Giro proper — climbs, time trials, the whole Italian argument — begins now.
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