Roglic wins opening Giro d'Italia time trial

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Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) won the opening stage of the Giro d’Italia, blitzing the eight-kilometre course in Bologna to take the first pink jersey of the race. The Slovenian was the only man to break the 13-minute barrier on the stage, which included a two-kilometre, 9.7 per cent climb to the finish.

Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott), who set off almost three hours after Roglič, took second on the stage, 19 seconds down. Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida) was third, a further four seconds back.

Roglič was the 12th rider to start on a day which flipped the usual time trial script. All of the main GC contenders started early in order to avoid potential thunderstorms. They didn’t materialise, however, leaving Yates free to race in similar conditions to his rivals, who completed the stage hours earlier.

It’s the second Giro d’Italia stage win of Roglič’s career, three years after his victory at the Chianti time trial at his debut Giro, back in 2016. After his run, the Slovenian was his usual self – pleased to take the win while staying reserved about the future.

“I’m happy with it. It went well. I finished well, and I’m happy with today’s performance,” said Roglič after finishing his ride. “It’s nice [to be in the lead]. It’s quite an advantage so I’m really happy with it.

“I tried to be focused. I did the recon some hours before the start. It’s not so big [on] tactics here – it’s not very technical, it’s quite honest, and at the end of the course, it’s full gas on the climb.

“It’s a nice gap and you always want more and more, but a win is a win. The first day is behind us and it’s a really nice start.”

How it happened

The opening time trial of the 102nd Giro d’Italia saw something of a role reversal to the usual proceedings, with many of the big GC names heading out early on in order to avoid possible rain showers forecast later in the afternoon.

As a result, Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb) kicked off the day. The Dutchman’s effort looked a solid one, going well on the steep 2.1km climb to the finish. His 13:22 was the benchmark, but it was soon beaten in unlikely fashion. Astana leader Miguel Ángel López – a man hardly known for his time trial abilities – reached the checkpoint at the bottom of the climb two seconds up on Dumoulin, ultimately besting him at the line by fractions of a second.

Minutes later, Nibali went fastest, his time of 13:17 five seconds up on the Colombian. Further down the climb, Roglič was flying up, passing his minute man and almost catching the next man on the road. The Slovenian is the in-form man coming into the Giro, and he duly blew the timing sheets apart with a time of 12:54.

There was disappointment for Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha-Alpecin) and Mikel Landa (Movistar), who put in times of 14:14 and 14:01 respectively, leaving them 1:20 and 1:07 down on Roglič on day one. Landa would later be beaten by his teammate, Richard Carapaz, who crossed the line at 13:41.

Meanwhile, Arnaud Démare (Groupama-FDJ) was the first man to switch from TT to road bike at the bottom of the climb, though his time of 14:53 suggested it didn’t do much good. As the excitement over the novelty of GC men going out early faded, Tao Geoghegan Hart kicked off Team Ineos’ first Grand Tour foray with a strong time, going fifth fastest with a time of 13:29, some 11 seconds faster than Bob Jungels (Deceuninck-Quick Step).

Nine, four, two and one points were on offer at the top of the 9.7 per cent climb to the line, so there was an incentive for those with blue jersey ambitions to target a good time there. Giulio Ciccone (Trek-Segafredo) was one such rider, racing on a road bike on both the flat and climb to set a time of 6:01 up the hill, the fastest of the day.

Ciccone’s teammate Bauke Mollema was the first GC contender to make a bike change, a move which Mitchelton-Scott DS Matt White had estimated could cost 20 seconds. His eventual time of 13:33 suggested that the bike change did indeed help him on the climb.

Rafał Majka (Bora-Hansgrohe) hasn’t had the best of times at Grand Tours during the past few years, but started off well here, crossing the line with a time of 13:27. The Pole would be the fastest man of the mid-section of the stage, as everybody awaited Yates’ run, third from last on the day.

A few riders dipped under the 14-minute mark during that period, including the Mitchelton-Scott duo of Esteban Chaves and Brent Bookwalter, and Daniel Navarro (Katusha-Alpecin). For the large part, though, it was a time for sprinters and domestiques to complete their rides.

When Yates finally went out for his run, he went strong on the flat, putting in a time of 7:06 at the intermediate checkpoint, and passed his minute man, Fernando Gaviria, on the climb. On the climb, he lost a single second to Roglič, sealing second place and confirming the Jumbo-Visma leader’s victory.

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