Massive crash disrupts the opening Giro d'Italia stage — Magnier times it right from the leftover group

Paul Magnier has won the first stage of the Giro d'Italia. As expected, the Bulgarian opener ended in a bunch sprint — but, as perhaps also expected, the finale was marred by a massive crash. Magnier escaped the carnage along with a handful of others, and edged out Tobias Lund Andresen in a tight finish to take the stage and the pink jersey.

It is rare for the pure sprinters to get the chance to contest the leader's jersey on day one of the Giro d'Italia. Last year, it was Mads Pedersen who won a sprint — but that came from a heavily reduced group, with around forty riders left over following the climbs in Albania. In Italy, the opening stage is almost always a time trial: the last genuine flat mass-sprint opener was back in 2017.

That year, a bunch sprint was ultimately avoided by the Austrian Lukas Pöstlberger, who won from a breakaway — but Friday's course in Bulgaria was even flatter than that. Just 872 metres of climbing were spread across the 147-kilometre route. Heuveltjes were the least of anyone's worries.

Shortly after 2pm local time — 1pm in the Netherlands — the riders were sent on their way, and the 109th edition of the Giro d'Italia was officially under way. Manuele Tarozzi (Bardiani) and Diego Pablo Sevilla (Polti VisitMalta) immediately took the opportunity to ride clear.

The Italian-Spanish duo became the Giro's first breakaway of this edition. With so many sprinters in attendance and the unique chance of claiming the pink jersey, there was no shortage of motivation to give chase. As a result, Tarozzi and Sevilla were kept on a short leash, their advantage hovering around two to two-and-a-half minutes.

The most important battle at the front of the race was for the mountains classification. The first mountain sprint, however, was convincingly won by Sevilla, leaving Tarozzi to focus on the intermediate sprints — the spoils were neatly divided between the two escapees. Back in the peloton, Lidl-Trek, Unibet Rose Rockets and Soudal Quick-Step controlled the move.

At the day's first intermediate sprint, Jonathan Milan and Kaden Groves made their intentions clear in the battle for the maglia ciclamino. Milan and Groves took five and three points respectively for the purple jersey. Later, at the Red Bull Kilometre, bonus seconds were up for grabs — with António Morgado ultimately pocketing two of them from within the peloton.

After the Red Bull Kilometre, the two leaders' advantage evaporated rapidly. With around 20 kilometres to go, their race was run and the sprinters began to prepare for the incoming bunch sprint. For a long time, things were surprisingly calm — though fast. Soudal Quick-Step moved to the front, while at the back of the peloton a dog briefly interrupted proceedings.

In the final kilometres the speed was extraordinary, the peloton swinging across the wide roads from left to right. For a long time that looked manageable — but inside the final kilometre, as the road suddenly narrowed, the front part of the peloton went down in a catastrophic crash. Only a handful of riders escaped, Magnier among them. He had the perfect timing, came over Lund Andresen at the death, and took both the stage win and the pink jersey.