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Eritreans celebrate with Merhawi Kudus (EF-EasyPost) before the start of the Giro d'Italia(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Ineos Grenadiers presented ahead of stage 1 of the Giro d'Italia(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal) said he will not finish the Giro(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Bikes on top of team cars at the Giro d'Italia start(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
The peloton roll out for the first stage of the Giro d'Italia(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Davide Cimolai and his Cofidis teammates at the start of the Giro d'Italia(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Ukrainian champion Andrii Ponomar (Drone Hopper) at the start of the Giro d'Italia(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Bert Van Lerberghe and Mark Cavendish at the start of the Giro d'Italia(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Biniam Girmay at the start of the Giro d'Italia(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Romain Bardet was awarded a Fair Play prize for stopping Liege-Bastogne-Liege to help Julian Alaphilippe, who crashed(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Richard Carapaz at the start of the Giro d'Italia(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Mikel Landa at the start of stage 1 of the Giro(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Mathieu van der Poel at the start of the Giro d'Italia(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Three Hungarian riders: Erik Fetter, Barnabas Peak and Attila Valter(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
A Giro d'Italia fan at the start in Budapest(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Eritrean fans were out in force(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
The peloton rolls out for stage 1 of the Giro(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Dignitaries at the start of stage 1 of the Giro(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Lawson Craddock masked up for the Giro d'Italia start in Budapest(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
The start of the Giro d'Italia in Budapest(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Astana at the start of the Giro d'Italia(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Tom Dumoulin on the stage(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
The team jerseys were displayed on a big screen(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Thymen Arensman with the Giro trophy(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Moto UCI regulators prior to the 105th Giro dItalia 2022 Stage 1 (Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
The start of stage 1 took place in the heart of Budapest(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Ineos Grenadiers presented in Budapest(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Rui Costa (UAE Team Emirates) on the stage(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Pavel Sivakov, Ben Swift and Ben Tulett(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Israel-Premier Tech on the stage(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Lennard Kamna and Ben Zwiehoff kept their masks on(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Trek-Segafredo on stage(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Fans amass at the start in Budapest(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Oier Lazkano, Ivan Sosa and William Barta on stage(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
Spectators dressed up for the Giro(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
The three Hungarians started front and centre(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
The peloton rolls out(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
The Giro d'Italia takes off from Budapest(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)
The opening stage of the Giro d'Italia got underway on Friday in Budapest, Hungary with 176 riders toeing the start line behind the three home riders, Erik Fetter (Eolo Kometa), Barnabas Peak (Intermarché-Wanty Gobert) and Attila Valter (Groupama-FDJ).
Because of the distant foreign Grande Partenza, the first Grand Tour of 2022 started one day earlier than usual, with riders facing a mainly flat 195 kilometre stage from Budapest to Visegrád with a sharp climb to the finish line at the 13th century citadel that towers above the Danube river north of Budapest.
The Budapest start has been in the works for several years and was originally scheduled for 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic postponed those plans until this year.
The virus has not gone away two years later and several riders remained masked up during the teams presentation at the start of stage 1. The Hungarian fans, however, amassed undeterred to witness the first start of a Grand Tour in the country.
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Laura Weislo is a Cyclingnews veteran of 20 years. Having joined in 2006, Laura extensively covered the Operacion Puerto doping scandal, the years-long conflict between the UCI and the Tour de France organisers ASO over the creation of the WorldTour, and the downfall of Lance Armstrong and his lifetime ban for doping. As Managing Editor, Laura coordinates coverage for North American events and global news.
