Blockhaus wasn't a piece of cake for Vingegaard — but why did he kiss his handlebars at the finish?

The first blow struck counts for double — Jonas Vingegaard must have been thinking exactly that on Friday. The Visma | Lease a Bike Dane won the first mountain stage of the Giro d'Italia on Blockhaus, completing his trilogy of stage victories at all three Grand Tours in the process. And he didn't do his overall chances any damage either.

Vingegaard had his team working all day, across 246 gruelling kilometres. On the final climb, he was given a superb platform by Davide Piganzoli and Sepp Kuss, launching his stage-ending attack. Giulio Pellizzari (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) initially followed, but in the end it was Felix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM) who came closest.

"We wanted to go for the win and I'm absolutely delighted that we managed it, after the incredible work my teammates put in," said the Visma leader. "I'm proud that I was able to repay that work with a victory."

It didn't come without a fight, he admitted afterwards. "There was a lot of wind — especially at the front — and that made it a tough climb." He still finished alone, before kissing his handlebars at the line. Why? A photo of his children, as footage from Eurosport revealed.

The Dane clawed back three minutes on pink jersey holder Afonso Eulalio, who still holds half of his original lead. "I'm happy to have taken back some time — but also to have taken time on my rivals."

Of those rivals, Felix Gall was the one who came closest, finishing 13 seconds back. "He is one of the rivals — but I already knew that. He's an incredibly strong guy and we'll be keeping a very close eye on him."