Andresen saw 'elbows' before the Giro crash — Milan explains why his legs locked up

Stage 1 of the Giro d'Italia should have delivered a spectacular mass sprint — but a huge crash in the final kilometre meant only a handful of riders made it to the front. Paul Magnier won, beating men who were, above all, disappointed and frustrated after a chaotic finale.

Second on the day was Tobias Lund Andresen, who was just far enough forward for Decathlon CMA CGM to escape the crash. Speaking to Eurosport, the 23-year-old Dane was gutted. "My team did exactly what I wanted, but as expected it was a madhouse."

"I lost the wheel briefly, but we stuck to our plan and I told Tord (teammate Gudmestad — Ed.) that I wanted an early sprint. That was necessary because those other guys are faster. If someone other than Paul had been on my wheel in the end, I would have won."

And there lies the source of the frustration — it was so close, and Decathlon CMA CGM had done everything right. On top of that, Andresen escaped a crash he had sensed coming. "It happened on my right side. As expected, everyone went crazy — there were a lot of elbows flying around."

The other riders behind Magnier and Andresen were equally gutted. Losing a sprint in a group that small hurts. Ethan Vernon finished third for NSN Cycling Team and said: "You always have a plan, but it was pure chaos — crashes and riders I was losing. It never goes the way you want. We did the best we could."

Jonathan Milan was also left shaking his head. But why? "The feeling was good, but we lost each other. I don't even know how or where — but I found myself a long way back," the Italian told Italian media. "I had to ride back up to the front by myself over one and a half kilometres, and when I got there I latched onto the wheel of someone who wasn't even sprinting. So I was too late."

Pascal Ackermann was also in the mix for Team Jayco AlUla, but came home only seventh. He said: "It was a super-nervous sprint, thankfully I stayed upright. I picked the right moment to come from the front, but by then I already had too much lactate in my legs after choosing the wrong side in the sprint."