Uruguay's Guillermo Silva wins crash-marred stage 2 of Giro and claims overall lead
Uruguayan cyclist Guillermo Silva has won a crash-marred second stage of the Giro d’Italia in a sprint finish and taken the overall race lead
VELIKO TARNOVO, Bulgaria -- Uruguayan cyclist Guillermo Silva won a crash-marred second stage of the Giro d'Italia in a sprint finish and took the overall race lead on Saturday.
Silva made some history too as the first Uruguayan to win a Giro stage and to don the maglia rosa. The Maldonado-born rider put his hands on his head in disbelief before playfully sticking out his tongue as he celebrated the biggest win of his career.
“I'm over the moon. It's only my second stage at the Giro d’Italia and I've already managed to win and even take the maglia rosa,” he said. "I was feeling good but I never imagined I could achieve something like this.”
Pre-race favorite Jonas Vingegaard was among four leading riders on the home stretch but they were caught by a big group of sprinters with 300 meters left.
Silva's XDS Astana teammate Christian Scaroni put him in an ideal position to attack and he just held off German rider Florian Stork and Italian climbing specialist Giulio Ciccone, who finished third.
“I have to thank Christian Scaroni, who helped me both in the chase to the leaders and in setting up the sprint,” Silva said. “I don't think I’ll ever forget this day.”
They finished the 221-kilometer (137-mile) hilly trek from Burgas to Veliko Tarnovo in north-central Bulgaria, which featured three moderate climbs, in 5 1/2 hours.
Silva took the pink jersey from Frenchman Paul Magnier, who won Friday’s opening stage, which was the first of three in Bulgaria and also featured a heavy crash at the end.
In the overall standings, Silva was four seconds ahead of Stork and Colombian Egan Bernal. Vingegaard was 10 seconds back in 15th overall.
In the rain on Saturday, Italian Mirco Maestri and Spaniard Diego Pablo Sevilla formed an early breakaway. They were caught with 27 kilometers left and patted each other on the back in a show of camaraderie.
With just over 20 kilometers remaining, about 15 riders went down after turning on a wet road.
British rider Adam Yates — the twin of retired defending champion Simon Yates — had blood and mud covering his face but carried on. The race was neutralized for several minutes while assistance was given to riders strewn along the road, some of whom lay on their backs after being flipped over a steel roadside barrier.
Yates was nearly 14 minutes behind and already likely to be out of contention for the title. Australian Jay Vine and his UAE Team Emirates teammate Marc Soler both abandoned after leaving in ambulances.
Vingegaard was not caught in the crash and placed himself at the front of the peloton toward the end, both to avoid danger and use his climbing skills on the uphill approach to the finish line.
He is debuting in the Giro and aiming to complete a trio of Grand Tours wins. The Dane won the Tour de France in 2022 and ’23 and clinched the Spanish Vuelta last year.
Sunday's mostly flat 175-kilometer third stage begins in Plovdiv — one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Europe — and ends in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia.
The 109th men's Giro ends on May 31 in Rome.
The women's Giro runs from May 30-June 7 with Italian rider Elisa Longo Borghini as the defending champion. ___
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