MILAN – Austrian grand tour debutant Lukas Postlberger claimed a surprise victory in the first stage of the 100th edition of the Giro d'Italia in Sardinia on Friday.
The Bora-Hansgrohe lead-out man found himself clear of the chasing peloton in the last kilometre into Olbia after 206km on the road and as the sprinters tried to react he powered on to cross the line and become the first man in the Maglia Rosa.
It proved a great opening day for the Bora-Hansgrohe team as Italian Cesare Benedetti claimed the early lead in the king of the mountain category after spending all day in a breakaway.
Australia's Caleb Ewan (Orica-Scott) was second over the line with Germany's Andre Greipel. The first stage covered over 206 km from Alghero to Olbia.
Giro d'Italia General classification after Stage 1:
1. Lukas Poestlberger (Austria / BORA) 5:13:25" 2. Caleb Ewan (Australia / Orica) +4" 3. Andre Greipel (Germany / Lotto) +6" 4. Pavel Brutt (Russia / Gazprom) +8" 5. Giacomo Nizzolo (Italy / Trek) +10" 6. Sacha Modolo (Italy / UAE Team Emirates) 7. Kristian Sbaragli (Italy / Dimension Data) 8. Jasper Stuyven (Belgium / Trek) 9. Ryan Gibbons (South Africa / Dimension Data) 10. Sam Bennett (Ireland / BORA)
#Giro100 we did it!! We proudly present our stage winner and owner of the #magliaRosa!!!! #grandeeee!!! @Poesti_92 pic.twitter.com/3xC9uCqEwZ
— BORA – hansgrohe (@BORAhansgrohe) May 5, 2017