Jhonatan Narváez avoids Pogacar's leadership from the first stage of the 2024 Giro d'Italia

The first stage of the 2024 Giro d'Italia did not disappoint. Tadej Pocagar wanted to mark his territory from the beginning, however, he did not count on a huge Jhonatan Narváez who not only managed to withstand his attacks but also snatched the victory and, therefore, the first pink jersey at the finish line in Turin.

Tadej Pogacar is intimidating from the start of the 2024 Giro d'Italia

The 2024 Giro d'Italia proposed a classic inaugural stage with a short and nervous route, and it did not disappoint a day that started in the town of Venaria Reale and ended in the streets of Turin. Just 140 kilometers but with several climbs that added excitement from the beginning.

Midway through the stage, the climb to Superga was faced, an icon of the Milan-Turin, the oldest classic on the calendar until a few years ago when it moved from September to March on a flatter route. A climb with which the Giro d'Italia, always attentive to these details, paid tribute to Il Grande Torino, the legendary team that dominated football in the 1940s and that disappeared on a day like today, 75 years ago, in the terrible accident where the plane carrying them crashed into the slope of Superga.

The stage added a final circuit with the Colle Maddalena, 20 kilometers from the finish, and, approaching the finish line, crowning just 2 kilometers from the arrival, the uncategorized climb of Bivio di San Vito that the cyclists would also ascend before the first pass through the finish line.

A fast start, as usual, with the smaller teams looking for the day's breakaway to gain media relevance. A breakaway was formed early with 6 cyclists, including Lilian Calmejane and Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier. However, they were not allowed to build a significant lead by the UAE Team Emirates, which controlled the race from the beginning, showing their intentions for this first stage of the 2024 Giro d'Italia.

It wasn't until the Colle Maddalena that the race definitively took off, with the UAE Team Emirates burning all their ships and, along the way, making a good selection in the peloton, eliminating some notable names like Michael Woods or Romain Bardet. However, at the front, only Tadej Pogacar remained with the company of Rafal Majka, raising doubts about his team's ability for the next three weeks.

This race situation triggered a real war of attrition on the flat section between Colle Maddalena and the start of Bivio di San Vito. However, the Slovenian remained calm despite the splits that occurred, and from the beginning of this last climb, he positioned himself at the front, first with an intense pace that only Jhonatan Narváez and Julian Alaphilippe could follow. Tadej Pogacar would not take long to catch up with the riders ahead and, at that moment, launch his attack.

Surprisingly, Narváez was able to resist the moves of the Slovenian, along with the German from Bora-Hansgrohe Max Schachmann, who was in the small break that had formed between climbs. The three would crest together and set off determined towards the streets of Turin, knowing that the stage victory and the coveted leader's jersey would be decided among them.

Schachmann launched the sprint from afar, knowing he was the weakest with the idea of surprising. Pogacar saw the move and accelerated alongside him. This allowed a fast man like Narváez to bide his time a bit, and when he finally started his sprint, he managed to narrowly surpass Tadej Pogacar, taking the stage victory and the desired leader's jersey. Even Schachmann managed to overtake the Slovenian in the end.

Behind, just 10 seconds later, a greatly reduced main group arrived, including the top favorites for the general classification.

Stage 1 Classification

1. Jhonatan Narváez (INEOS Grenadiers) 3h14'23''
2. Maximilian Schachmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) +00''
3. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) +00''
4. Alex Baudin (Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale) +06''
5. Nicola Conci (Alpecin-Deceuninck) +10''
6. Quinten Hermans (Alpecin-Deceuninck) +10''
7. Mauri Vansevenant (Soudal-QuickStep) +10''
8. Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain-Victorious) +10''
9. Attila Valter (Visma-Lease a Bike) +10''
10. Geraint Thomas (INEOS-Grenadiers)+10''

Overall Classification

1. Jhonatan Narváez (INEOS Grenadiers) 3h14'23''
2. Maximilian Schachmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) 3''
3. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) 6''
4. Alex Baudin (Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale) +16''
5. Damiano Caruos (Bahrain-Victorious) +17''
6. Nicola Conci (Alpecin-Deceuninck) +18''
7. Quinten Hermans (Alpecin-Deceuninck) +20''
8. Mauri Vansevenant (Soudal-QuickStep) +20''
9. Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain-Victorious) +20''
10. Attila Valter (Visma-Lease a Bike) +20''