2013 Giro d'Italia Stage 1 Results & Recap
Stage 1 of the 2013 Giro d'Italia is in the books. The final results and standings are below, followed by our recap of how the race unfolded.
Race Recap
Cavendish takes maglia rosa
Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) won the opening stage and so took the leader's pink jersey at the Giro d'Italia in Naples, taking the win ahead of Elia Viviani (Cannondale) and Nacer Bouhanni (FDJ). A very high pace and a late crash had split the field but he once again Cavendish proved he has the speed to win.
"The stage wasn't easy, there were a lot of corners and it was very hot for an Englishman like me. It was only 130km long and my team did a great job working for me," said Cavendish.
"Steegmans had a problem with his gears and so I had to close a ten-metre gap with just 500m to go. I had to go in the red to win the sprint."
Cannondale had moved up to lead the field in the final kilometers, and its burning pace lined-out the field. Only about a dozen riders were in the lead group at the finale after the crash took out Mattia Gavazzi (Androni Giocattoli) and Davide Apollonio (Ag2r-La Mondiale). Orica-GreenEdge drove the way in the final kilometre, pulling for Matthew Goss but he was unable to find the speed to win. Viviani moved past him in sight of the line but Cavendish powered his way up on the right hand side of the road to snatch the win. It was his 11th Giro victory. French national champion Nacer Bouhanni (FDJ) was third.
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