The opening stage of the Giro d'Italia went to the sprinter with Paul Magnier (Soudal-QuickStep) sprinting to victory and claiming the first pink jersey as the overall leader.
The second day of racing won't be as straightforward, and with three climbs on tap, it could become an important race for the opportunists on the hunt for the maglia rosa.
Magnier leads the overall classification by four seconds ahead of Tobias Lund Andresen (Decathlon CMA CGM) and Manuele Tarozzi (Bardiani CSF 7 Saber), and while there is a slim chance that the GC won't change, it is more likely that the reduced group or a breakaway will arrive at the finish line in Veliko Tarnovo.
Even Magnier understands how difficult it will be to keep the leader's jersey, but he remains optimistic nonetheless, also looking to a chance at the ciclamino jersey.
"Tomorrow, it will be the legs doing the talking. I’ve had a great preparation, so why not try to keep the leader’s jersey as long as I can?" he said.
"I’ll first enjoy one day in the maglia rosa. I didn’t do the intermediate sprint today; I saved my legs for the final, but if there are opportunities in the next few days, I’ll give it a try for the maglia ciclamino. I hope to get another victory, but it’s not easy."
Burgas to Veliko Tarnovo, 221km
Image 1 of 2
(Image credit: RCS Sport)
(Image credit: RCS Sport)
Start time: 11:50 EET
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Finish time: 17:14 EET
Continuing the east to west route for the Grande Partenza in Bulgaria, stage 2 heads towards the interior, for a tricky finale where the maglia rosa will probably change shoulders with the sting of the Lyaskovets Monastery climb, 10km from the finish.
Leaving Burgas, the route crosses the Balkan Mountains, tackling two categorised climbs to head towards Veliko Tarnovo, perched on the rocky banks of the Jantra River, a tributary of the Danube. The finish features a sharp uphill kick of the 4km ascent of Lyaskovets Monastery Pass with an average gradient of 7% and maximum double-digit steep pitches before a fast descent to an uphill dash to the line.
Mountains
Byala Pass (cat. 3), km. 116.3
Vratnik Pass (cat. 3), km. 134.1
Lyaskovets Monastery Pass (cat. 3, 3.9km at 6.8%, max. 14%), km. 210.6
Lyne has been involved in professional cycling for more than 15 years in both news reporting and sports marketing. She founded Podium Insight in 2008, quickly becoming a trusted source for news of the North American professional cycling world. She was the first to successfully use social media to consistently provide timely and live race updates for all fans. She is proud to have covered men's and women's news equally during her tenure at the helm of the site. Her writing has appeared on Cyclingnews and other news sites.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
