Teams of Ciccone, Roglic, Poole, and Gaudu rubbing their hands after strong signals in Giro opener

The most eye-catching GC contender on Friday was undoubtedly Giulio Ciccone. The Italian from Lidl-Trek had kept his ambitions close to the chest in recent weeks, though a day before the start he promised: “I’ll give you a show.” And in the very first stage, he delivered, taking the lead over Mads Pedersen on the final climb and putting the entire peloton to the test. Pedersen went on to sprint to victory, while Ciccone finished a solid eleventh.

Ciccone remained modest afterward in the Italian media. Had he chosen between going on the attack or focusing on the GC with his support role? “It wasn’t such a big effort, and Mads Pedersen is a great leader,” was all he said. “We’re taking it day by day. I just want to do a good time trial on Saturday, and after my strong TTs in the UAE Tour and Tirreno, I have full confidence.”

Nearly all GC contenders finished in the front group—except for Arensman, Gee, and Landa. Still, it was notable that Picnic-PostNL had both Max Poole and Romain Bardet in the top sixteen. “The first day is always stressful, but we were well positioned, and because Lidl-Trek made things tough, we arrived at the finish with a small group. Romain did a lead-out for me, so I could still sprint. I’m feeling a bit stiff after a crash, but I feel okay and I’m going for it in the time trial,” said Poole in a press release.

Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-BORA-hansgrohe) also saw that his team was right where it needed to be. “It was a good day, despite the slippery roads and hot temperatures. The team did well, compliments to everyone.” That same sentiment was echoed at Groupama-FDJ, where David Gaudu finished solidly in the front group. Team boss Thierry Bricaud told Cyclism’Actu: “We had scouted the stage and knew the finale would be tough. If David is among the final thirty, even though he's not yet at his best, that’s a good sign.”