A massive crash inside the final kilometres tore apart the main group and changed the course of the expected mass sprint of stage 1 from Nessebar to Burgas. Frenchman Paul Magnier stood above the reduced bunch and in the last meters overtook favorite Jonathan Milan to triumph. Seconal and third were Tobias Lund Andersen and Ethan Vernon, respectively, while Milan was fourth. Magnier will wear the first pink jersey in the 109th Giro d’ltalia. Tomorrow’s second stage from Burgas to Veliko Tarnovo, 221kms.
“I came into this race with the ambition of taking a victory and the pink jersey, something in which I believed since my altitude training camp, and I’m delighted I could do it on the very first stage. The entire squad was formidable today!
I have no words to tell you how happy I am that I could finish it off. There are some big sprinters here, and to win against them is unbelievable! It’s a beautiful feeling to wear the first maglia rosa, which is such a legendary jersey!”
-Pau Magnier. Soudal Quick-Step. The 22-year-old Frenchman donned three jerseys: pink, cyclamen and white.