Ecuadorian Narváez tricks Pogacar in opening stage of the Giro d'Italia, Arensman and Bardet suffer a big loss

Jhonatan Narváez (INEOS Grenadiers) has the honor of donning the first pink jersey of the 2024 Giro d'Italia. The Ecuadorian emerged victorious after an exciting stage that started in and around Turin, where the Tour of Italy also kicked off, following a fast move by Tadej Pogacar (UAE-Team Emirates). Thymen Arensman (INEOS Grenadiers) and Romain Bardet (dsm-firmenich PostNL) lost significant time.

After all the formalities of the past few days, it was finally time for the 176 participants of La Corsa Rosa: the first three-week cycling tour of 2024. RCS had a little gift in store: the riders were allowed to sleep in, as the start of the 140-kilometer opening stage was not until 1:55 PM in the outskirts of Turin.

The neutralization lasted slightly longer than expected due to some issues behind the peloton, but once the flag was dropped, the race was on. Several teams were keen on a spot in the day's breakaway, but the battle didn't last long: the peloton decided it had enough and allowed six riders some space.

Lilian Calmejane (Intermarché-Wanty), Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier (Lidl-Trek), Filippo Fiorelli (VF Group-Bardiani CSF), Nicolas Debeaumarché (Cofidis), Andrea Pietrobon (Polti-Kometa), and Louis Barré (Arkéa - B&B Hotels) were given some leeway, but not for long. Representing UAE-Team Emirates, the Norwegian powerhouse Vegard Stake Laengen quickly took the lead of the group behind to assert the intentions of his team, especially team leader Pogacar.

Groves and Alpecin-Deceuninck show ambitions for the points jersey

The six lead riders managed to pull ahead by a maximum of two minutes, shifting the focus quickly to the mountain points: Fiorelli won that sprint with his quick legs, and also managed to grab the intermediate sprint. In the peloton, Alpecin-Deceuninck made their ambitions clear by having their leader, Kaden Groves, sweep up the remaining points before the competition could.

The next obstacle was the Superga climb, which, indirectly, was a significant part of this Grande Partenza: exactly 75 years ago, on this day, the Torino football team tragically perished in a plane crash against the hill north of Turin. On this May 4th, the Giro d'Italia took the opportunity to honor those deceased footballers and their entourage with the start of the Italian stage race and a passage over the hill.

At the head of the race, a battle ensued, with Ghebreigzabhier breaking away and soon joined by Calmejane. Meanwhile, Laengen set a moderate pace, allowing the gap to the African rider to suddenly extend to three minutes: perhaps Pogacar was not interested in the day's victory and the initial pink jersey with its accompanying responsibilities?

Gesink falls, significant time loss for Bardet and Arensman

Ghebreigzabhier and Calmejane maintained a strong pace, but as they neared the first climb of San Vito, their lead started to dwindle due to the peloton's increased activity. Domen Novak, Pogacar’s teammate and fellow countryman, led the charge, while unfortunately, the first crash of this Vuelta occurred just behind him. Among those affected were Domenico Pozzovivo (VF Group-Bardiani) and Robert Gesink (Visma | Lease a Bike), who was clearly frustrated but managed to continue.

Following San Vito was the Maddalena climb, where Arensman of INEOS Grenadiers unexpectedly struggled early on. As Mikkel Bjerg drove a group of about forty riders forward, Arensman was visibly troubled, shaking his head as Pogacar's teammates sensed a vulnerability. Bjerg and Grossschartner sacrificed themselves in the push, causing Bardet and Tour of Romandie podium finisher Florian Lipowitz (BORA-hansgrohe) to drop from the group. Chris Hamilton waited for Bardet on behalf of dsm-firmenich PostNL, but even Bardet took a hard hit. They topped Maddalena over a minute behind the leaders.

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Calmejane grabbed the points at the top as the sole breakaway rider and then extended his lead with his descending skills, causing some nervousness to creep into the chasing group. UAE-Team Emirates let the gap widen a bit, which triggered attacks from those hunting for the stage win: riders like Mikkel Honoré (EF), Max Schachmann (BORA-hansgrohe), Nicola Conci (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Alex Baudin (Decathlon AG2R), Giulio Pellizzari (VF Group-Bardiani), Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious), and Alessandro de Marchi (Jayco AlUla) surged forward, sparking numerous other attempts. Meanwhile, Pogacar had only Rafal Majka with him.

Due to poor teamwork at the front, Conci decided to strike out alone towards the San Vito hill, starting with a solid lead. Pogacar quickly reacted from the peloton, with Jonathan Narváez (INEOS) and Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal Quick-Step) swiftly following in his draft. The Slovenian swiftly overtook the chasers and closed in on Conci, but couldn't shake the resilient Ecuadorian. The two powered over the summit together, closely followed by Schachmann, who caught up during the descent.

This trio, with Schachmann and Narváez supporting teammates Daniel Felipe Martínez and Geraint Thomas, was now set to battle for the stage victory. Pogacar, needing support yet determined to compete, prepared for a tough sprint finish. However, it was Narváez who had the quicker sprint finish.

Results of stage 1 Giro d'Italia 2024

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