Pedersen Wins Giro Opener As Landa Injured In Crash

Denmark's Mads Pedersen outsprinted Wout van Aert to triumph nan first shape of nan Giro d'Italia successful Albania.

Britain's Tom Pidcock vanished 5th for his caller Q36.5 team, successful a title successful which nan 25-year-old hopes to contend for nan coveted wide pinkish jersey and besides triumph stages.

But different contender for pink, Mikel Landa of Spain, collapsed violently pinch astir 5km to go, pinch nan Soudal-Quick Step rider appearing to collide pinch a lamppost connected nan attack to nan centre of Albania's superior metropolis Tirana.

He was placed successful an ambulance astatine nan segment and has subsequently abandoned nan race.

Lidl-Trek's Pedersen will deterioration pinkish successful Saturday's second-stage clip proceedings aft benefiting from nan gait group by his team-mates connected nan beforehand of nan peloton complete nan last Surrel climb, which saw nan axenic sprinters successful nan title dropped from nan starring bunch.

"It's perfectly amazing, particularly aft nan squad activity for illustration this, it's really unthinkable that nan squad useful that difficult and I tin salary them backmost pinch a win," he said.

Pedersen is simply a highly dressed up rider, having won nan 2019 Road World Championship, one-day classics and now his seventh Grand Tour stage.

The 29-year-old hit Visma-Lease A Bike's Van Aert to nan statement by a instrumentality - nan Belgian is expected to beryllium Pedersen's main rival for nan ciclamino-coloured points jersey.

An exhausted Van Aert said afterwards: "You only get 1 aliases 2 chances to return pink, but connected that past climb I struggled to enactment in."

It was a typically melodramatic first shape for nan Giro, connected chartless roads successful Albania, which is hosting nan commencement of a Grand Tour for nan first time.

During nan last 2 climbs galore riders mislaid touch pinch nan peloton, including sprinters Kaden Groves and Olav Kooij, because nan gait was truthful high, moreover though nan climbs themselves were not considered to beryllium overly difficult.

But nan existent surprises came successful nan conflict for nan wide classification. Canada's Derek Gee was dropped from nan peloton for Israel-Premier Tech, losing almost a minute, and Ineos Grenadiers' Thymen Arensman mislaid complete a infinitesimal and a half.

Then, nan often luckless Spaniard Landa was near writhing successful symptom connected nan pavement, his motorcycle lying astatine nan bottommost of a lamppost.

The clang saw different riders travel to condolences arsenic they took evasive action successful nan ensuing melee, including France's Geoffrey Bouchard of Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale.

Saturday's clip proceedings sees riders return a 13.7km trial against nan timepiece astir nan streets of Tirana, pinch Pedersen expected to relinquish nan pinkish jersey to a master successful nan discipline.