Amsterdam, 8 May: Englishman Bradley Wiggins won the opening 8.4 km time trial of the 93rd edition of the Giro d'Italia and wears the first pink jersey. Wiggins covered the 8.4 km in 10 minutes 18 seconds, averaging 48,932 km/h. Rain and wet roads made the course tricky in the corners. In second was the surprising ride of American Brent Bookwalter, who will wear the red points jersey, at - 2 seconds; Bookwalter held on to 1st place for more than two hours before Wiggins' ride. World Champion Cadel Evan finished 3rd also at -2 seconds. Vinokourov finished 4th at -5 seconds. The best placement by an Italian was that of time trial specialist Pinotti in 10th at -9 seconds. Nibali was a surprise as he was relaxing in Sicily when he was called up only a few days before the Giro start to replace Pellizotti, nevertheless, he finished in 11th at -10. Ivan Basso finished 37th, -23 seconds.
Wiggins said, "It kind of sounds corny, but I'm such a fan of the Giro and always have been since I was a kid. I know a lot about the history of cycling. To wear the pink jersey in the Giro is special. It's such an iconic jersey. I grew up watching videos of the Giro, seeing [Maurizio] Fondriest and [Gianni] Bugno wearing it. I realize what I have on my shoulders. And that's quite special in itself because it will hang on my wall for the rest of my life. It means a lot to me. To be able to enjoy that moment tomorrow, whether it’s for a day, two days, or however long, it's very special. To take it in such style in Amsterdam, is probably even more special."
Wiggins, whose main objective for this cycling season is the Tour de France, is now reassessing his Giro plans. "The plan was never to try to do that (win the Giro). But now we're in this position we'll fight hold on as long as possible. We'll fight to hold it. If we lose it we'll fight to get it back it at some point. The plan is to race this race, not just sit back and enjoy it."
Tomorrow the 2nd stage with be 210 km from Amsterdam-Utrecht. The stage for sprinters is in fact more complicated than it appears on paper due to pitches and turns.
Stories for the Italian Cycling Journal about rides, granfondos, having a good time cycling in Italy, Italian cycling history, etc. are very welcome. Contact me at veronaman@gmail.com. There are more than 1,300 stories in this blog. The search feature to the right works best for finding subjects in the blog and there is also a translate button at the bottom so you can translate each page.
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Nibali kept his cool after sweeping through a 90 degree corner, barely missing the barriers when he struck a pigeon in mid-flight. He just brushed it aside like a mosquito and kept on pedaling.
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