The 2026 edition of the Giro d'Italia started on Friday, running from May 8 to May 31, in 21 stages starting with three in Bulgaria, before ending in Rome. And the first leader of the race, after a chaotic first stage, is 22-years-old Frenchman Paul Magnier, of Soudal-Quick Step, in his first stage win at a Grand Tour, and tomorrow will be his first time wearing a pink jersey for leader
Magnier was victorious and perhaps a bit lucky in a chaotic final sprint, with a mass crash in the final kilometre, passing Tobias Lund Andresen from Decathlon in the last meters, and with Ethan Vernon from NSN Cycling being third.
Only a small group of around ten riders made it into the finish line as a breakaway after the fall, which blocked the road and means that dozens were unable to complete the sprint, including the big favourite, the Danish Jonas Vingegaard, and without Tadej Pogacar in this Grand Tour.
Two more stages in Bulgaria will take place, with Saturday's being the first hilly stage from Burgas to Veliko Tarnovo, and then a visit to Sofia on Sunday. The cyclists will rest on Monday as the race continues in Catanzaro on Tuesday, May 12.
