From Carapaz and Pidcock to Poole and even Gee: Giro leaders are super excited and thrilled after the first blow from Roglic

Looking at the GC, we find Juan Ayuso (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) in fifth place, 16 seconds behind, one spot ahead of his teammate Isaac Del Toro. In seventh place is the surprising 22-year-old Max Poole of Picnic-PostNL. After finishing eighth on the first day, he moved up to seventeenth in the time trial. "I think I did alright, so it’s a solid start. I just stayed relaxed and focused," said the Brit in a press release.

After Antonio Tiberi (who took as few risks as possible) and Michael Storer (Tudor) in 8th and 9th place in the rankings, Giulio Pellizzari is in 10th place - as Roglic's teammate at Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe - also still in contention, but already 31 seconds behind the leader. After the Visma duo Wilco Kelderman and Simon Yates in 32nd and 33rd place, Adam Yates is the third UAE rider in 14th place. EF Education-EasyPost can still remain hopeful with Richard Carapaz, who barely managed to stay upright.

Read more below the photo.

After that shock, Carapaz still finished 37 seconds behind Roglic, good for 15th place in the GC. "It went better than expected; this is really a morale boost for the team and me. We are on the right track after preparing for the Giro since October. We were determined to perform well in the Giro, and performances like today motivate us to keep fighting. I trust in my endurance and will get the chance to show what I can do."

The last five riders in the top 20? After Jai Hindley (also Red Bull) and Damiano Caruso (Tiberi's teammate), we find Davide Piganzoli of Polti VisitMalta in 18th place. "I think it was a good time trial," said the Italian climber. Number 19, Tom Pidcock, agreed, who is now 42 seconds behind Roglic on behalf of Q36.5. "I think I was pretty good; 43 seconds behind Joshua Tarling is not bad, considering his speed in the recon. I enjoyed it."

Giulio Ciccone completes the top 20 after the time trial, also 42 seconds behind the pink jersey. Who are we missing? In addition to the mentally struggling Thymen Arensman and the mediocre time trialists Egan Bernal and David Gaudu, it is Derek Gee, the Canadian leader of Israel-Premier Tech. After losing time on day 1 and an okay time trial, he is now 1.25 behind. "I think it was the same thing that happened at the Tour of the Alps, it was just a rough opener. My heart rate was high, and then the engine blew, so it just takes a couple of days for me to get into it, I think," Gee told Cyclingnews.