Soudal Quick-Step was again prominent at the first Grand Tour of the season.
The Giro d’Italia scheduled the traditional “tappa dei muri” on Saturday, when the peloton embarked on a 156km stage from Chieti to Fermo peppered by short and punchy climbs to the delight of the breakaway men, who knew this was going to be one of their biggest chances to shine at this edition.
All of the day’s four classified climbs came in the final 55 kilometers, and this made for an incredibly nervous opening hour, with countless attacks and attempts to form a leading group. Three riders went clear at one point, while behind a large number featuring Soudal Quick-Step’s Gianmarco Garofoli, Fabio Van den Bossche and Filippo Zana, also snapped the elastic and set out in pursuit of the trio. Surprisingly, despite the group having the numbers on their side, the small breakaway managed to stay clear and Jhonatan Narvaez (UEA Team Emirates) took the win in the town of Fermo, which returned at the Giro for the first time in more than half a century.
Our squad’s first rider home was Gianmarco Garofoli, who arrived one minute behind the winner, not far from the top ten, while 22-year-old Paul Magnier kept his ciclamino jersey. Sunday will see the GC favourites battle on the slopes of Corno alle Scale, the second summit finish of the race and the last stage before the second rest day of the Giro d’Italia.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images
