Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) unleashed a monster sprint and narrowly held off a charging Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) for stage victory and the first pink jersey of the Giro d’Italia.
Pedersen’s win Friday came off the back of a huge show of force from Lidl-Trek. The U.S.-based team blew the peloton’s legs off in the hilly finale to drop the pure sprinters and set up a reduced gallop to the line.
The pace also stunned a handful of GC hopefuls.
Derek Gee (Israel Premier Tech) and Thymen Arensman (Ineos Grenadiers) both suffered damaging early losses after they were dropped on the final climb of the Albanian grande partenza.
Canadian fan-favorite Gee lost 57 seconds, Arensman hemorrhaged 1:35.
It was even worse for Mikel Landa (Soudal Quick-Step). The Basque suffered a nasty high-speed crash just 5km from the line and was taken away in an ambulance. He was later diagnosed with a fractured spine.
Top GC favorites Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) and Juan Ayuso (UAE Emirates-XRG) both finished in the front group and head into the stage 2 TT on the same time.
Pedersen into pink and first grand tour leader’s jersey
Pedersen rode into Friday’s grande partenza as a hot favorite for the stage, and he and Lidl-Trek duly delivered.
“To win the stage and go in the pink jersey is absolutely amazing,” Pedersen said at the finish. “Especially after teamwork like this. It is really incredible that the team works that hard, and I can pay back with a win.”
Friday made for a special day for Pedersen, who won his first grand tour leader’s jersey.
“It went as the exact plan today. To push really hard on the climb, to make it a smaller group and then a sprint in the end,” he said.
Pedersen beat Van Aert by a length in the final sprint into Tirana. The classics-crushing Dane opened his acceleration first, and Van Aert couldn’t follow.
A huge sprint to 2nd from Wout
Van Aert finishes runner-up to Mads Pedersen on Giro d’Italia Stage 1 with this sprint…
⏱️ Time: 16″
Avg speed: 63.4km/h
️ Max speed: 66.3km/h
Avg power: 1110w
⚡️ Max power: 1340wSprint Cycling
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#GirodItalia pic.twitter.com/aKKoxI4TWW— Velon CC (@VelonCC) May 9, 2025
The result was some surprise for Van Aert, who was suffering with sickness before the Giro d’Italia and was nearly dropped on the final climb.
“I didn’t feel really good, actually. But there is only one or maybe a few opportunities to take this pink jersey, so that’s why I really wanted to try it,” Van Aert said at the finish.
“On the last climb I suffered so much to just hang on. It is a pity to finish in second place, but it is better than expected.”
Giro d’Italia stage 1 results:
Lidl-Trek unleashes stage-winning masterplan
Lidl-Trek went on a mission Friday to make racing as hard as possible for Pedersen.
The color-block crew mobbed at the front and set a wild pace on both repeats of the Surrel climb that overshadowed the finale. For Pedersen, more pace meant less “pure” sprinters to worry about in a possible group sprint.
Olav Kooij (Visma-Lease a Bike), Sam Bennett (Decathlon Ag2r-La Mondiale), and Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick Step) were all dropped on the first ascent of the 7km, 4.4% grinder.
Lidl-Trek piled on again for the second climb, and it was a stunning sight to see GC climbers Arensman and then Gee pop under the pressure.
Van Aert struggled to cling to the Lidl-Trek train and only narrowly remained in the reduced bunch before it plummeted the final 11km toward the finish line.
There was disaster for Landa on the downhill.
The Basque was among a handful of riders who crashed in the fast downhill and was conscious, but did not get back on his bike. He was taken away in a stretcher. His Quick-Step team is yet to provide a full update.
❤️ We’ll try to provide news about Mikel as soon as possible.
He has left the race, and we wish him the best of recoveries. #GirodItalia https://t.co/mryWRQLk3y pic.twitter.com/EbeKko8dVw
— Giro d’Italia (@giroditalia) May 9, 2025
Up next: Tirana time trial for Tarling and the specialists
The Giro remains in Albania on Saturday for a flat, 14km city-center time trial that should be perfect for the big-engined aero purists.
Josh Tarling (Ineos Grenadiers) is top favorite, but don’t count out Van Aert, U.S. powerhouse Brandon McNulty (UAE Emirates-XRG), and even GC bigs Roglič and Ayuso.
Can Pedersen keep pink? The big Dane has an equally big TT motor, but he might struggle.
Also see:
Giro d’Italia GC contender Mikel Landa diagnosed with fracture to his back following high speed crash on opening stage
velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-ra…