Alessandro Covi (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) claimed victory on stage 1 of the Giro d'Abruzzo, his first for three years since stage 20 of the 2022 Giro d'Italia, getting the four-day Italian stage race off to a perfect start in a grinding uphill sprint to Crecchio.
UAE Team Emirates-XRG continued to show their incredible team depth, with Covi being their 12th different winner so far in 2025 across the team's impressive 28 wins already.
The Italian was led into the finish by teammates Rune Herregodts and Ivo Oliveira, who kept the pace high enough before he hit out for the line and powered away from compatriots Filippo Fiorelli (VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè) in second and Alessandro Fancellu (JCL Team UKYO) who took third.
Covi will take the blue and green leader's jersey heading into the second stage, where he'll try to defend it on the tough roads from Tocco da Casauria to Penne, which features three categorised climbs.
"It's super nice, as always when you win. It's difficult because it's after three years but we are professional, we work for this victory every day of the week," Covi said.
"Obviously I had in the program this race and I see this finale which was a good opportunity. With the team, we tried to make it so we arrived in a small group for the finish, which we did perfectly, and I won in the sprint."
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