The Giro d'Italia started abroad for the 15th time - for the first time in Albania. The three-day detour into Albania kicked off with a hilly section between the harbour town of Durrës and the Albanian capital Tirana. In the end, Mads Pedersen (Lidl - Trek) secured victory after 160 kilometres.
In a long sprint on the finishing straight in the Albanian capital, the Dane beat Wout Van Aert (Visma | Lease a Bike) and Orluis Aular (Team Movistar) in a reduced group. With his victory, Pedersen also took the pink jersey at the Giro d'Italia.
"This was my favourite stage of the Giro in the run-up. It's incredible to actually win here and take the pink jersey, especially after the hard work the team did for me during the stage. I'm happy that I was able to repay that with the win," said Pedersen in the winner's interview.
Mikel Landa crashes in the final
The finale took place on two loops around Tirana, on each of which the short, crisp Surrel climb had to be mastered. The climb proved too difficult for some sprinters, with passages with gradients of up to 13 per cent. Olav Kooij (Team Visma | Lease a Bike), Kaden Groves (Alpecin - Deceuninck) and Sam Bennett (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team) lost touch due to the pace dictated by Lidl - Trek, among others.
Primoz Roglic (Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe) finished like most of the favourites in the first 36-man group. Only Derek Gee (Israel - Premier Tech) lost 35 seconds in the final.
Mikel Landa (Soudal - Quick-Step) and Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates - XRG) also crashed on the descent from the Surrel climb shortly before the finish. Landa had to be taken away by ambulance. His Giro is already over after the first stage.
Giro d'Italia 2025 - Results of the 1st stage
Stage 1: Durrës - Tirana
Giro d'Italia 2025: Stage 1, Durrës - Tirana
| Rnk. | Riders | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lidl - Trek | 03:36:24 |
| 2 | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | +00:00:00 |
| 3 | Movistar Team | +00:00:00 |
| 4 | Intermarché - Wanty | +00:00:00 |
| 5 | Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team | +00:00:00 |
| 6 | XDS Astana Team | +00:00:00 |
How the 1st stage of the Giro d'Italia 2025 went
With the start signal in Durrës, the first attacks immediately came from the peloton, from which the leading group of the day formed after five kilometres. However, Alessandro Verre (Arkéa - B&B Hotels), Sylvain Moniquet (Cofidis), Taco van der Hoorn (Intermarché - Wanty), Alessandro Tonelli (Team PoltiVisitMalta) and Manuele Tarozzi (VF Group - Bardiani CSF - Faizanè) were not allowed a big lead, at most two minutes. In the peloton, Lidl - Trek and Team Visma | Lease a Bike in particular controlled the gap.
Accordingly, there was never any real chance of a stage win for the breakaway. Instead, the mountain jersey took centre stage. The climb to Gracen (2nd category) began in the middle of the race: The ascent stretched over 13.5 kilometres with an average gradient of 5.2 per cent. However, the escape group only had a lead of around 45 seconds at this point due to the massive chase by Team Visma | Lease a Bike. On the climb, however, the Dutch team took their foot off the accelerator. After several attacks, Moniquet finally secured the mountain classification from the escape group.
In the following 20-kilometre descent, Verre briefly broke away from his companions - van der Hoorn had already caught up again at this point. However, Moniquet, Tonelli and Tarozzi later caught up with Verre again. However, the gap to the peloton was only 35 seconds with 60 kilometres to go. Their escape was over 40 kilometres before the finish.
Lidl - Trek with excellent preparatory work
The finale took place around the capital Tirana - with two loops around the city with the tough Surrel climb (3rd category). Sprinters such as Olav Kooij (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) and Sam Bennett (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team) dropped back on the first crossing 37 kilometres before the finish. From then on, Lidl - Trek took control at the front for Mads Pedersen.
Kaden Groves (Alpecin - Deceuninck) and Max Kanter (XDS Astana Team) also lost contact on the second pass 17 kilometres before the finish. By the end of the mountain classification, the group had been reduced to around 40 riders under the pace of Lidl-Trek. The team then continued this outstanding lead-out on the finishing straight, when Mathias Vacek took the sprint from his captain Pedersen, who went on to win.
