Preview: What you need to know about stage 1 of the 2022 Giro d’Italia
Preview: What you need to know about stage 1 of the 2022 Giro d'Italia
Date: Friday May 6
Start: Budapest
Finish: Visegrád
Distance: 195 km
This looks like your standard flat stage to start a Grand Tour … until the final 5.6 km. After a very flat day, there’s a climb to the finish that averages roughly 5%, making for a fascinating start to the Giro. With the first maglia rosa up for grabs, the battle will be fierce on the final climb. Don’t be surprised if there’s quite a sizeable group at the top.
Who’s it for: Strong climbers with a punchy finish. Expect the GC contenders to be thereabouts, although the stage win could go to a fast finisher with some versatility.
Dane Cash’s picks: Mathieu van der Poel looks like a great pick to take the first pink jersey of the 2022 Giro. The final climb is not so hard as to drop the Tour of Flanders champ, and he can probably out-sprint most of the riders likely to still be at the front in the finale. The big question mark is whether Caleb Ewan or possibly Biniam Girmay can also hang on. If so, they’ll be in the mix to win. If not, look to the likes of Diego Ulissi and the ageless Alejandro Valverde to challenge Van der Poel.
