Turin (Italy) (AFP)
The Italian Filippo Ganna (Ineos) donned the first pink jersey of the leader of the Giro d'Italia cycling on Saturday after his victory in the time trial in Turin.
Ganna, the time trial world champion, pushed his compatriot Edoardo Affini back to 10 seconds after 8.6 kilometers of a fast course which he completed at over 58 km / h.
The Portuguese Joao Almeida, fourth on the stage behind the Norwegian Tobias Foss, set the best time for the candidates in the general classification, 17 seconds behind Ganna.
Almeida did slightly better than his Belgian teammate Remco Evenepoel who finished 7th in this time trial (19 sec from Ganna) for his return to competition after some nine months of hiatus.
The two main favorites for the general classification, Briton Simon Yates and Colombian Egan Bernal, were more or less even, one second apart, but twenty seconds behind Almeida, fourth in the Giro last year.
Ganna, winner at an average of 58.748 km / h, scored his fifth success in the Giro.
The Piedmontese, tall (1.93 m for 82 kg), won last year the three time trials on the program for the 2020 edition, run last October due to the pandemic.
The second stage, which remains in the province of Piedmont, links Stupinigi near Turin to Novara over 179 kilometers of a plain course favorable to sprinters.
Last year, Ganna wore the pink jersey for two days.
© 2021 AFP