Narváez stayed behind Pogačar’s bike when he started the final climb about four kilometers before the finish line, then Schachmann caught up with the leading pair in the descent. The reigning Ecuadorian champion was the fastest at the finish line, claiming his second stage victory at the Giro after 2020 and is the first owner of the pink jersey this year.
“It’s a great feeling. We knew it was going to be a stage for me and we worked on it. It was very difficult to keep up with the best cyclist in the world on the climb, that’s why this is an extraordinary victory. It still hurts. At the end it was really rough, but I managed it,” praised Narváez, who was second in the stage race of the Tour Down Under at the beginning of this year.
Despite an unsuccessful attack on the stage victory, Pogačar confirmed in the opening 140 kilometers that he is a big favorite for the overall championship in his first participation in the Giro. The two-time Tour de France champion declared his goal to win both the Giro and the Tour this year, the last time the Italian Marco Pantani did it in one season in 1998.
The opening stage included three categorized climbs, including the one to the top of Superga, where exactly 75 years ago on May 4, 1949, all members of the then famous football team FC Turin died in a plane crash.
An even more demanding stage is on the program on Sunday from San Francesca al Campo to Santuaria di Oropa, which after 150 kilometers culminates in a first category mountaineering premium. The winner of the race will be crowned on May 26 in Rome.
