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Giro d'Italia stage 1 - Live coverage

By Stephen Farrand
last updated

All the action from the opening Turin time trial

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Buongiorno and welcome to the Cyclingnews live coverage of stage 1 of the 2021 Giro d'Italia. 

As the Cyclingnews blimp takes height over Turin, we are less than two hours away from the start of the 2021 Giro d'Italia

We are ready for the first Grand Tour of the season and will bring you full live coverage of every stage, with pre-race build-up, blow by blow live updates and post-race news, reaction and photographs. 

The 2021 Giro d'Italia is set to open with a flat 8.6km time trial - tailor-made for World Champion Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) - on May 8 in Turin. The event takes place entirely within the city, starting at the Piazza Castello, crossing the Po river, and finishing at Corso Moncalieri.

The time trial and general classification favourites are scattered throughout the event with Victor Campenaerts (Team Qhubeka Assos) at 14:02, Vincenzo Nibali (Trek-Segafredo) at 15:30, Remi Cavagna (Deceuninck-QuickStep) at 15:43.

Click below to see the full start list.

The riders are already in the centre of Turin and are out studying the course now the roads have been closed to traffic. 

Here's the AG2R team checking out one of the key corners.

In the last ten day Cyclingnews has created special countdown features on the Giro d'Italia covering every aspect of the race.

Today is all about the 8.6km high-speed TT around the streets of Turin.

We'll have all the answers as the stage unfolds. 

The Ineos riders did a warm-up in the team car park this morning and each rider will do their own warm-up in the hour before the time trial starts.

Team rosters have been confirmed, and the overall contenders, sprinters, climbers and breakaway artists will be preparing to tackle the first Grand Tour of the season.

AG2R describe the TT course as "rapide mais relativement technique" - "fast but also quite technical".  

We're really happy to have Matteo Jorgenson blogging from the Giro d'Italia on his Grand Tour debut. 

There's huge curiosity about what Remco Evenepeol can do in the Giro d'Italia.

Who ever wins this afternoon's time trial, will pull on the maglia rosa, which was first introduced 90 years ago.  

The sun is out in Turin and will be close to 20C later in the afternoon.

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We're just minutes away from the start of the time trial. 

Filippo Tagliani (Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec) will be the first rider off the starting ramp at 14:00 CET local time.

The early starters have already started their warm-up. 

He's off! The Giro is underway. 

The riders are off at 1-minute intervals, so they come thick and fast.  

Italy is recovering from a long second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, with restrictions recently eased despite an average of 10,000 cases per day. 

Victor Campenaerts (Bel) Team Qhubeka Assos is off too and is likely to set the first fastest time.

The times for the 8.6km course are expected to be around nine minutes.

Victor Campenaerts stays tucked in his aero position, cutting through the fast corners and curves. 

Wow. Dekker passed Tagliani before the finish to set 9:19.

Victor Campenaerts sets 9: 19

That's the same as Dekker but Victor Campenaerts is actually faster due to the hundredths of a second. 

Dekker was just 0.073 of a second slower.

Jonathan Castroviejo (Ineos Grenadiers) is off and could be fast. 

This is the TT route in central Turin. 

Tejay van Garderen (EF Education-Nippo) sets a time of 9:26, showing the US team's new colours.

Here comes Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) he sets 9:28. 11 seconds off the pace.

This is the stage profile. It's flat and fast. 

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Surprise! Roger Kluge uses his sprint lead out skills and track speed to set a new fastest time of 9:17.  

Jonathan Castroviejo (Ineos Grenadiers) finishes fast and sets 9:14. 

Situation

Bike change needed for LL Sanchez after a flat and a near crash on a corner.  

The Astana rider takes his normal road bike which adds a twist to his ride.

Dylan Groenewegen (Jumbo-Visma) is back and has started his TT.  

It will be an emotional return for the Dutch sprinter. But in an interview with L'Equipe, he said he feels he is ready to fight for victory in the sprints, starting from Sunday's 2nd stage.

Giacomo Nizzolo (Qhubeka Assos) sets 9: 35.  

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Here comes an unhappy LL Sanchez. He sets 10:24. 

Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) starts his TT. He's the current Spanish time trial champion and will be looking to gain time on some GC rivals. 

Caleb Ewan is 43 seconds slower than his lead out man Kluge. 

Nelson Oliveira (Movistar) is fast but not fast enough, setting 9:16. 

Alessandro De Marchi (Israel Start-up Nation) is fast and sets 9:17. That's a good ride by the Italian.  

In our team by team guide, we had Alessandro De Marchi as one of the riders to watch.

Bilbao sets 9:25.

Thomas de Gendt (Lotto Soudal) is underway. He was third overall in 2011 but is now known as the best stage hunter in the peloton.

De Gendt  doesn't seem to be taking any risks in the corners. 

Former U23 world TT champion Samuele Battistella (Astana) sets 9:20. That's a good ride by the young Italian. 

De Gendt sets 9:39.

In other news away from the Giro, Wout van Aert has revealed he is recovering from appendicitis. 

Matthias Brändle (Israel Start-up Nation) sets 9:09.

That's a great ride by the Austrian. 

He rode at an average of 56.4km/h. 

He was 2 seconds slower at the intermediate time check but finished fast.  

Situation

Now the GC battle heats up as Aleksandr Vlasov (Astana) starts his TT. 

He will be followed by Vincenzo Nibali (Trek-Segafredo)

Nibali is off ands looks fine on his bike, despite fracturing his wrist just 3 weeks ago.  

Nibali has avoided talking about his GC hopes but he's going full gas in the TT. 

Nibali lost almost a week of training after his crash but then went to altitude and kept working. 

Nibali has explained he longer feels any pain but it will be fascinating to see what he can do and especially if he an be a GC contender.  

Aleksandr Vlasov (Astana) sets 9: 11. 

He sets the marker for the GC contenders.

Here's Nibali. He sets 9: 28.

Gianni Moscon is out riding and he's attacking the TT with gusto. 

Situation

Moscon is 2x Italian national TT champion.

Moscon sets 9:10

He was really close to beating Brandle, just 0.89 of a second slower. 

There are some clouds over the course now, that will help the riders go faster.  

Tobias Foss of Jumbo-Visma is on a ride. 

Foss is so fast that he catches his 1-minute man Simon Pellaud (Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec).

Foss sets a time of 9:00!

That smashes the times for today. 

He beats Brandle by 9 big fat seconds.

But Remi Cavagni is underway. He's a big favourite for victory.

To learn more about Foss, read our special introducing feature by clicking below.

Cavagna is 4th fastest at intermediate time split. He will be hoping to go deeper and faster in the final part.  

Colombian TT champion Dani Martinez is out on the course. He could be fast too. 

Rémi Cavagna (Deceuninck-QuickStep) sets 9:05 

Situation

This is the scene at the start in Turin. 

23-year-old Foss has never won a pro race but he could now win the TT and take the pink jersey. 

Britain's Hugh Carthy of EF starts his TT. He will be looking to limit his losses today.

Foss won the 2019 Tour de l'Avenir and so could be a surprise GC rider this year. He is one to watch. 

Eduardo Affini is also fast for Jumbo-Visma.  

He is three seconds faster than Foss after 3.8km. 

Cavagna went deep but no won for the Frenchman.

Affini sets 8:57

That's a great ride by the Italian.

Affini has some interesting, one support, very narrow aero bars.

Hugh Carthy (EF) sets 9:25

We're seeing more GC riders in action. Pavel Sivakov is in action now.

Affini rode at an average of 57.654 km/h!

British TT national champion Alex Dowsett is also out on the course. 

Sivakov is not super fast at the time split, losing 9 seconds to Foss and Affini after 3.8km  

Here comes Alex Dowsett (Israel Start-Up Nation) but he's off the pace. 

Here's Affini in action.

And here is Cavagna.

Dutch TT champion and another Jumbo-Visma rider Jos van Emden is out on the TT course. 

Peter Sagan also starts his ride. 

Giulio Ciccone of Trek also starts as the GC contenders start. 

Maximilian Walscheid (Qhubeka Assos) could be a threat today. He is a close second after 3.8km.  

Van Emden catches minute-man Cepada. That's an unfair fight but the Colombian will get revenge in the high mountains.

Jos van Emden (Jumbo-Visma) sets 9: 05

That puts him fourth fastest. 

Max Walscheid (Qhubeka Assos) faded in the final kilometres and was 9 seconds slower than Affini. 

Egan Bernal is off. His 2021 Giro begins.

Simon Yates (Bike Exchange) also starts his ride. 

The tifosi are out for Sagan, Ganna and it seems to say hello to grandpa.

Dan Martin (Israel Start-Up Nation) starts too. 

Joao Almeida (Deceuninck) is also out on the course. 

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Almeida is fast at the 3.8km point, just 4 seconds off the pace.

Bernal sets 4:10 at the time split. that's not super fast. 

Yates is on the same pace. 

João Almeida (Deceuninck-QuickStep) was a surprise race leader for 2 weeks in 2020. 

João Almeida (Deceuninck-QuickStep) sets a time of 9:04.

Egan Bernal (Ineos) sets 9: 26

Simon Yates sets 9: 25 

Yates will be happy to be close to Bernal.

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Next off is Alberto Bettiol (EF). 

The final three kilometres of the TT are vital. 

Emanuel Buchmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) starts his TT. 

George Bennett (Jumbo-Visma) goes through the 3.8km time check in a similar time to Bernal and Yates.

Jai Hindey (DSM) finishes in 9:33. 

Bettiol is fast at the 3.8km split. 

Marc Soler (Movistar) is about to start, followed by a certain Remco Evenepoel (Deceuninck-QuickStep). 

Giro d'Italia 2021 - 104th Edition - Torino - Castello del Valentino - Team Presentation - 06/05/2021 - Remco Evenepoel (BEL - Deceuninck - Quick-Step) - photo Luca Bettini/BettiniPhoto©2021

(Image credit: Bettini Photo)

George Bennett (Jumbo-Visma) sets 9: 28

Remco blows out two deep breaths and starts his TT.

Bettiol is fast and sets 9:13.

Not bad but it keeps him within shot of the maglia rosa on the rolling stage 3 to Canale.

Ganna is off!  

He starts his ride and tucks into his aero position to get up to speed. 

Italys Filippo Ganna competes during the final stage 161 km race against the clock Fribourg to Fribourg during the Tour de Romandie UCI World Tour 2021 cycling race on May 2 2021 in Fribourg Photo by Fabrice COFFRINI AFP Photo by FABRICE COFFRINIAFP via Getty Images

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Ganna started 1 minute after Evenepoel.

Ganna has a new blue Pinarello TT bike.

Evenepoel is fast, just 1.9 seconds slower than Affini after 3.8km.

Ganns is even faster! He sets 3:59 for 3.8km. 

Ganna dives into every corner to save as much speed as possible. 

He is smashing round a 58 chainring and a huge gear.

Ganna is constantly chasing the police motorbike ahead of him.

Remco Evenepoel sets a time of 9: 06

Ganna! 

Affini sportingly takes his hat off to his fellow Italian.

Ganna smashed that ride and the time.  

Situation

Mikel Landa (Bahrain) is off the GC rider pace in 9:36

After Ganna's ride and with on other contenders  to start, he surely ha the stage victory wrapped-up. 

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All the riders are out on the course. 

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Romain Bardet (Team DSM) sets 9:39.

Dries De Bondt (Alpecin-Fenix) sets 9:56 and is the last rider home. 

That confirms Ganna as the stage winer and the first race leader of the 201 Giro. 

Yet again Filippo is Top Ganna.  

Ganna's stature allowed him push about 20 watts more than Affini and so go ten second faster. 

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Here's Remco Evenepoel at speed. 

Here's Affini, he pushed Ganna close. 

Ganna was happy to take a second opening TT win after last year's success. He felt the pressure. 

Ganna revealed he raced without the team radio. 

"I started with a small radio but I didn’t hear anything, so I told myself to go full gas and listen to the people along the road," he said. 

Here's Ganna in pink. The tifosi sound happy. 

Thanks to his win Ganna also took the cycalmen points jersey and the best young rider's white jersey.

To read our full stage report, study the full results and see our growing photo gallery, click below. 

Ganna now has 14 professional victories on his palmares.

Ganna pulled on the first maglia rosa in 2020 and again today in  2021. 

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Remco Evenepoel (Deceuninck-QuickStep) impressed on his return to racing, finishing seventh in the TT.  

He also sportingly praised Ganna on his win.

The overall contenders hardly made a dent into the 3,000 plus kilometers in this year’s Giro d’Italia with the opening 8.6km time trial in Turin but the riders vying for the maglia rosa were still scattered throughout the results.

The best performance from a GC contender came from one of last year’s revelations, João Almeida (Deceuninck-QuickStep), who finished fourth on the stage with a time of 9:04.

Click below to read our first GC analysis after the Turin time trial. 

Here's Ganna close-up. 

Here's Simon Yates in action in the time trial. He lost 20 seconds to Almeida and Evenepoel but was up there with Bernal and the other GC contenders.  

Remco Evenepoel spoke about his emotional return to racing after finishing  seventh in the TT. 

Click below to read the full Evenepoel story. 

Ganna will wear pink during stage 2 on Sunday. 

There’s just one categorised climb on the route, a fourth-category ascent at Montechiaro d’Asti that will put the first rider to cross it in the blue mountains classification jersey. 

The 2020 Giro sprints were dominated by Frenchman Arnaud Démare (Groupama-FDJ), who won four stages and claimed the cyclamen jersey as points winner but is absent this year.

Facing them will be the best of Italy’s sprinters, including Cofidis’ Elia Viviani, Qhubeka Assos’s European champion Giacomo Nizzolo and Trek-Segafredo’s fast-emerging Matteo Moschetti.

Team Ineos rider Italys Filippo Ganna wearing the overall leaders pink jersey celebrates on the podium after winning the first stage of the Giro dItalia 2021 cycling race a 86 km individual time trial on May 8 2021 in Turin Photo by Luca Bettini AFP Photo by LUCA BETTINIAFP via Getty Images

(Image credit: Getty Images Sport)

Thanks for joining us for full live coverage of the opening stage of the Giro d'Italia. 

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