As it happened: Hectic high-speed sprint finish decides Giro d'Italia Stage 1 in Tirana

Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale rider Geoffrey Bouchard is also out of the race on stage 1.

The Frenchman went down in the same crash as Landa. There's no update yet on his condition.

Mikel Landa first to drop out of Giro d'Italia after heavy stage 1 crash

Spanish rider went down on a fast descent with Jay Vine and Corbin Strong

22-year-old Francesco Busatto is in the maglia bianca of best young rider after his fourth place on stage 1.

The maglia azzurra is Cofidis rider Sylvain Moniquet, who led the race over the second-category climb of Gracen for 18 points.

Lorenzo Fortunato and Giulio Ciccone are in second and third on 10 and 9 points.

Pedersen is also in the first maglia ciclamino of the race as points leader.

He has 25 points to Van Aert's 18 while Tarozzi is third on 17.

Pedersen in the first pink jersey of the 2025 race and, more importantly, with the first Wolfie of the race.

"To win the stage and go into the pink jersey is absolutely amazing, especially after teamwork like this," Pedersen said after the stage.

"You always have to be afraid of Wout, he's a really good bike rider. It's not a given to win when he's in the group, and you have to handle that with respect and a bit of fear as well. But today I had the legs to finish it off for the team.

"It's the first leader's jersey I have in a Grand Tour, so that's something nice.

"There are only a few opportunities to take the pink jersey. So that's why I really want to try - on the last climb, I suffered so much to just hang on. So it's a pity to finish in second place, but it's better than I expected."

Mads Pedersen celebrates his stage victory.

Giro d'Italia: Mads Pedersen edges Wout van Aert to win stage 1 and claim first pink jersey

Movistar's Orluis Aular third in bunch sprint finish on opening Albanian stage

Meanwhile, Rai just showed shots of Landa getting stretchered away from the scene of his crash. It's Giro over for the Spaniard.

Behind the podium trio, Francesco Busatto (Intermarché-Wanty) and Tom Pidcock (Q36.5) rounded out the top 5.

Pedersen celebrates stage 1 victory in Tirana!

Gee's group comes in almost a minute down. Arensman is another 30 seconds or so back.

It looked like Aular took third place.

Finish

Van Aert tries to come alongside but he can't nudge ahead.

Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) wins stage 1!

Pedersen is just in front and is holding on.

But it's a Pedersen vs Van Aert drag race to the line...

Movistar rider Orluis Aular is also there.

Pedersen in second wheel with Van Aert behind.

Lidl-Trek back on the front around the final bend!

A mix of several teams battle for control.

1km to go

Jayco move up.

Lidl with two behind and then it's Van Aert. Pidcock is also near the front.

Red Bull are driving it with three riders.

2km to go

Full speed to the line in this reduced lead group.

Lidl-Trek and Visma also up there. The big favourites all in place.

Red Bull on the front for Roglič now.

3km to go

Attacks at the front as Lidl-Trek lose control.

Geoffrey Bouchard also went down in one of those crashes on the same corner on the descent.

Vine and the other riders got up and dodged oncoming riders before they got going again.

Landa has stayed on the ground and doesn't look good.

Crash for Jay Vine on the way down. An Israel rider goes down trying to avoid him.

Mikel Landa is also down.

Ciccone and Vacek continue to pull on the way down for Lidl-Trek.

7km to go

Not much information on who is in the lead group as of yet.

Pedersen, Roglič, Van Aert, Pidcock are all in there.

His group is around 15 riders.

9km to go

Gee is 25 seconds down.

It looks like there's only around 30 men in the lead group.

Derek Gee also reportedly dropped.

11km to go

The US team continue to lead on the way down. It's a very slimmed-down peloton.

No attacks at the top as Lidl-Trek lead it with Ciccone.

Only a few hundred metres to the top now.

12km to go

A disaster for Ineos already if one of their main GC men is already in trouble on day one.

Wout van Aert drops back in the peloton.

Thymen Arensman is off the back!

The pace is very high as the riders head towards the top. Will any attacks come before the descent?

Giulio Ciccone now pulling at the front.

Pedersen is in second wheel. Van Aert not far behind. Red Bull with three men behind.

14km to go

No moves at the front yet with 2.5km left of the climb.

Lidl-Trek at the front on the way up Surrel.

Lidl-Trek continue with four at the front.

Groves lets go 4km from the top.

Kaden Groves just about hanging on right at the rear.

Riders dropped on the first ascent made it back on but now they're dropping again. Vendrame just let go at the back.

16km to go

5km of climbing left to go.

Bahrain and Jayco also with a couple of riders apiece. Tom Pidcock is also moving up.

Now Lidl-Trek take it up with five riders.

EF and Lidl-Trek also represented at the front.

Israel-Premier Tech to the front to start the climb.

19km to go

1km to the start of the climb.

It doesn't look particularly packed out with spectators to greet the race down at the finish line in Tirana.

The group passes over the finish line and they'll soon head back up the climb of Surrel.

Lidl-Trek continue on the front as the peloton races through Tirana.

Fortunato took 9 points at the top of that last climb. Pello Bilbao, Carlo Verona, and Patrick Konrad were next on 4, 2 and 1 points.

Wout van Aert among the Lidl-Trek riders at the head of the peloton.

The riders are getting a look at the descent back into Tirana now. They'll tackle this again later on the way to the finish.

30km to go

No information on who took the KOM points behind Fortunato yet.

Lorenzo Fortunato (XDS-Astana) launches at the top to claim the points and signal his intentions for the blue jersey.

1km to the top now.

Paul Magnier, Andrea Vendrame drop.

36km to go

Lidl-Trek continue to lead at the front with six riders.

Three riders apiece from Ineos, Visma, and Red Bull are up there.

Instead, we're looking out for the likes of Pedersen, Van Aert and the puncheurs here.

Sam Bennett and Olav Kooij among the riders dropped on the way up. It's not a stage for the pure sprinters.

Daan Hoole leading it for Lidl-Trek on the way up with Mads Pedersen on his wheel.

Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe and Egan Bernal is his new Colombian champion's kit also visible up front.

Riders dropping off the rear of the peloton now as Lidl-Trek join Visma up front.

6.9km of climbing at an average of 4.6% coming up.

40km to go

Up the climb we go as the breakaway is caught.

Visma-Lease A Bike still up front in the peloton, as they have been all day.

Just 15 seconds up to the break now.

But first, the riders are heading through Tirana and past the finish line.

46km to go

6km to go before the breakaway riders hit the first of two ascents of the third-category Surrel.

It looks like Tarozzi came past before the line, however.

Tonelli launches the sprint in Sauk.

A look at the break of the day before Van der Hoorn was dropped.

35 seconds from break to peloton. Visma still massed on the front.

53km to go

5km to go until the breakaway riders hit the Red Bull-sponsored time bonus sprint.

Mads Pedersen and Sam Bennett are chasing back to the peloton following the climb.

And now he's caught by the chasers so it's four out front once again.

Verre has a few seconds on the group behind. Tonelli, Tarozzi, and Moniquet are all together.

59km to go

The gap is back up to a minute now.

Tonelli is next on the road while Tarozzi and Moniquet follow.

Verre leads at the front at the bottom of the fast descent.

69km to go

Visma-Lease A Bike continue to lead the way in the peloton behind. The group is closing in on the break, with the gap coming down under 30 seconds.

The peloton on the way up the first climb of today's stage.

The breakaway riders have fought over two intermediate sprints and the first classified climb of the race. They're also racking up breakaway kilometres for the Fuga Pinarello and demonstrating their combativity towards the Fighting Spirit prize.

Read up on the Giro d'Italia classifications, jerseys and rules explained here

18 points for the Belgian at the top. Verre, Tonelli, and Tarozzi followed him for 8, 6, and 4 points.

In the end, it's Moniquet who leads the break over the top.

80km to go

More attacks out front as Tarozzi has a go now.

Van der Hoorn is dropped but the other four are back together out front.

Some movement in the break now as Tonelli makes a move at the front at the end of the feed zone.

82km to go

3.5km from the top and the gap between break and peloton is up to 1:20.

Tarozzi (17 points) leads Tonelli (11) and Moniquet (9) in the points classification after two intermediate sprints. He'll hold the overnight lead in the minor intermediate sprint classification, even if the stage winner will gain more points and so hold the points jersey. 

The gap to the peloton is holding at a minute on the way up.

89km to go

Ayuso and the Picnic-PostNL riders return to the peloton.

The break is still together on the way up, though the peloton has closed to within a minute.

18, 8, 6, 4, 2, 1 points on offer at the top here at Gracen.

9, 4, 2, 1 points on offer at each of the remaining two climbs on the stage.

It's likely that the first man over the top here will wear the blue jersey overnight.

Visma-Lease A Bike lead the peloton up the climb.

Juan Ayuso has been forced to stop for a new bike at the base of the climb. It looked like he got tangled up with some crashing Picnic-PostNL riders.

They head uphill and start the second-category climb to Gracen.

It's 13.6km long at an average gradient of 5.1%. They'll climb to 777m of altitude.

92km to go

1:15 for the break now.

Tarozzi leads Moniquet, Verre, Tonelli, and Van der Hoorn across the line.

Tarozzi leading the quintet as they approach the second traguardo volante of the day.

1:30 from break to peloton and 4km to go before the next sprint in Elbasan.

Tonelli leads Van der Hoorn, Tarozzi, Moniquet, and Verre across the line at Papër without any quarrel.

103km to go

The breakaway riders approach the first sprint of the day.

Read up on all the Giro d'Italia classifications, jerseys, rules, and defunct competitions here

There's another sprint later in the stage, sponsored by Red Bull. It will give 6, 4 and 2 bonus seconds to the first across the line.

Giro d'Italia adds time bonus sprints to 19 stages of 2025 race in partnership with Red Bull to 'ignite fierce battles' in GC

Two intermediate sprint points coming up at Papër and Elbasan before the first hill of the race.

Egan Bernal rides alongside Primož Roglič and the Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe squad.

It's a short leash for the break today. They've never had more than two minutes and now their advantage is down to 1:35.

The breakaway races towards Italian flags, though a return to the Giro's home country is a couple of days away yet.

126km to go

Around 35km to go until the riders tackle the first climb of the Giro.

The sprint squads at the head of the peloton.

133km to go

1:55 now for the breakaway.

Jimmy Janssens, Jacopo Mosca, and Steven Kruijswijk are the trio heading up the peloton at the moment. Four more riders apiece from Alpecin and Visma are lined out behind them.

143km to go

Alpecin-Deceuninck also working at the front of the peloton now. They join Visma-Lease A Bike and Lidl-Trek in the pacemaking.

The race heads south of Durrës on a long, straight highway.

The break's advantage is holding at around the 1:40 mark for now.

The first hill of three on the stages comes after 70km of racing, so we've got a lengthy wait for more major action during today's stage.

Visma-Lease A Bike, Lidl-Trek, and Ineos Grenadiers up front in the peloton.

151km to go

1:40 for the peloton now.

The gap back to the peloton is up to 50 seconds already. It looks like this quintet is our break of the day.

Verre, Tonelli, and Moniquet have been joined in the break by Taco van der Hoorn and Manuele Tarozzi.

Riders from Intermarché and Bardiani bridging across.

Two more riders coming across while the peloton already looks calm.

156km to go

Alessandro Verre of Arkéa leading a move with Alessandro Tonelli (Polti-VisitMalta) and Sylvain Moniquet (Cofidis).

All back together for now, though a selection of riders from the same teams are leading at the front.

Speeds of 60kph+ as they leave Durrës on a well-surfaced two-lane highway.

Bardiani, Intermarché, Arkéa, Alpecin, Movistar, Polti all on the move.

Four men slightly off the front now as more riders follow in ones and twos.

One rider gives up and there's an immediate counter from a teammate.

160km to go

The first attack comes from VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè.

Riders from Movistar, Lidl-Trek, Bardiani, Polti, Arkéa, Intermarché-Wanty are all up front as the flag drops!

Riders are now bunched up behind the lead car and preparing to attack once the start is given.

2km to go before the flag drops.

Riders roll through Durrës to start the Giro.

The riders are nearing the halfway mark of the roll-out. 5km to go before the flag drops.

The peloton is now moving to start the 2025 Giro d'Italia. The neutral roll-out is under way.

Riders will tackle a 9.2km neutral roll-out before the start proper.

10 minutes to go!

We're not long away from the 2025 Giro d'Italia Grande Partenza, but already there's talk of future foreign starts...

Belgium? AlUla? Abu Dhabi? Where will the Giro d'Italia head next after Albanian start?

'I'm still believing' - Egan Bernal continues to pursue dream of a third Grand Tour victory at Giro d'Italia

Bernal to wear newly designed national champion's jersey in homage to historic Café de Colombia team's 1987 Vuelta a España victory

Wout van Aert is another stage 1 favourite, even if he suffered from an illness just before heading to Albania.

'He doesn't need to prove anything to anyone' – Relaxed ex-teammates Van Aert and Roglič full of respect and jokes ahead of Giro d'Italia

"I'm really confident in the team, but as has been mentioned, unfortunately, my preparation was not ideal. But luckily, tomorrow the race starts, and we can see day by day. We have big expectations, but let's see," he said in the pre-race press conference.

Pidcock recently said, "Now I've started enjoying cycling", following his move to Q36.5. 

Can he start the Giro off with a win and the first pink jersey of the race?

The story of the endless trophy that offers priceless glory for Giro d'Italia champions - What is the Trofeo Senza Fine?

Unique prize for Italian Grand Tour champion only held by winners since 2000

Tom Pidcock, a contender for the stage win today, passes the Trofeo Senza Fine on the way to signing on ahead of the start.

23 teams and 184 riders will be taking the start today. Read through our comprehensive Giro d'Italia team-by-team guide for the lowdown on all the competitors at the race.

Under an hour to go to the start of stage 1 and teams are signing on in Durrës.

How to watch Giro d'Italia 2025 – Live streams, TV coverage, broadcasters

All the broadcast information for the Italian Grand Tour

Who will win the Giro d'Italia 2025? Analysing the favourites

Former winner Primož Roglič and 22-year-old Juan Ayuso start the 108th corsa rosa as favourites

Just over an hour to go before stage 1 gets underway...

Meanwhile, last-minute roadworks and traffic around the capital this week have disrupted rider's preparations for the Giro

Teams prepare for Giro d'Italia opener with traffic-disrupted recons amid last-minute road repairs

Unpredictable Albanian opener pits sprinters against Classics stars in fight for the first maglia rosa – 2025 Giro d'Italia stage 1 preview

May 9, 2025: Durazzo-Tirane, 160km: Mads Pedersen enters opening day as favourite to take pink after Wout van Aert revealed pre-race illness at team presentation

Today's stage is set to bring a battle between the puncheurs and the hardy sprinters, with two ascents of the Surrel climb (7km at 4.5%) coming inside the final 40km.

Will attackers prevail with moves over the top of the last climb of the day? Or can the sprinters hang on and regroup for a bunch finish in Tirana?

Here's a look at the profile of the opening stage – three major ascents to tackle before the finish in Tirana today.

Stage 1 is set to kick off at 13:10 local time, so 12:10 in the UK or 7:10 EST.

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the opening stage of the Giro d'Italia, the season's first Grand Tour!