2018 Giro d'Italia Stage 2 Results & Recap
Stage 2 of the 2018 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
Viviani steals show in Tel Aviv
Dennis takes over pink\nBy Clara Beard
It was no secret that Elia Viviani (Quick-Step Floors) was targeting a win today on stage two of the Giro d’Italia. Viviani came to the Corsa Rosa in fantastic form, notching up several UCI wins already earlier this year and doing the same in Tel Aviv in impressive style.
The last five clicks of a practically flat 167-kilometer stage had the potential for nervous crashes, but even when Viviani lost his lead out train, his experience took over and followed the right wheels - specifically eventual second place finisher Jakub Mareczko’s (Wilier Triestina) - to propel himself to victory.
Despite having a lead out from his teammate, Sam Bennett (Bora-Hansgrohe) could only manage third place on the day.
Rohan Dennis steps into the pink jersey after claiming the second intermediate sprint, giving him three seconds on GC. Now the Australian leads Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb) by a single second in the overall. Recognizing how early on it is in the Giro to have the responsibility of the maglia rosa, Dumoulin didn’t put up much of a fight.
The start of the 167-kilometer stage was a standard affair, with a break of three escaping early on in the stage. Davide Ballerini (Androni Giocattoli), Lars Bak (Lotto Fix-all) and Guillaume Boivin (Israel Cycling Academy) composed the day’s break and Team Sunweb moved to the front of the peloton, keeping the trio at a safe three minutes.
It wasn’t until the peloton neared the second intermediate sprint that we saw a diversion from the norm. BMC Racing, determine to see Dennis in pink, started the charge for the time bonus catching the breakaway in the process. Other teams seemed willing to let Dennis win the sprint, with only third place overall Campenaerts challenging.
While the shift in race dynamics was in process, Enrico Barbin (Bardiani-CSF) took advantage of the opportunity and nabbed the first KOM points of the race, putting him in the maglia azzurra.
After the ascent, Boivin wasn’t quite done at the front, and attacked yet again. This time, no one followed the Israel Cycling Academy rider, who dangled off the front until the sprint trains took over proceedings with 10 kilometers to go.
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