Tricked in the first stage in Olbia by the unexpected stretch of Lukas Postlberger, the sprinters of the Giro immediately took their revenge at the finish line of the second stage, even if there was the ascent to over a thousand meters of Sella Gilana, followed however by twenty final km of descent which facilitated the reform of the group in view of the arrival of Tortoli. Here André Greipel exploded all his power, who with the stage, thanks to the bonus game, also conquers his first squad. Second Ferrari, third the Belgian Jasper Stuyven. Gaviria and Ewan, Greipel's most formidable rivals in the sprints of this Giro, hindered each other losing the chance to counter the victory of the German Gorilla. For Greipel, in his fifth Giro d'Italia, it is the seventh victory in the pink race. The first dates back to 2008 in the 17th stage from Sondrio to Locarno. In last year's Giro he even scored a hat-trick but after his third success in Bibione he abandoned the race on the sly, when he was also the leader of the points classification in the red jersey with the excuse of having to prepare for the Tour. A gesture that aroused much controversy more than in the French race Greipel did not go beyond a narrow victory outclassed by the domination in the sprints by Mark Cavendish. Friday Postlberger, yesterday Greipel: the Giro, in its first two stages, wears pink for the first time young, semi-unknowns like the Austrian and old foxes like the German Gorilla. Also on the front of the climbers' blue jersey is the historic first leadership of a black rider, Daniel Teklehaimanot. Already a polka dot jersey for a few days at the Tour, the Eritrean conquered it by being first on the Gennargentu.
In the upper quarters of those who can win the Giro, there is nothing to report: Quintana and Nibali often pedaled in pairs, very careful, in the strong wind that was blowing, to avoid falls. Among the likely candidates to enter the top ten moments of anxiety only for Ilnur Zakharin, forced to a furious run-up to get back to the group, helped by his Katusha companions, after a mechanical accident that had delayed him by more than half a minute. Today is the third last Sardinian stage of the Giro, 148 km all flat except for a short stretch at Capo Boi where it is safe to bet that the blue jersey of Teklehaimanot will pass first. For the final victory it will be a battle between the big names in the sprint. Then, after the rest on Monday for the transfer to Sicily, Etna will make the first real selection in the standings.
