Key Takeaways: 2025 Giro d'Italia Stage 1

Breaking down how an action-packed opening stage was won & what it told us about the fight for the overall victory

Mads Pedersen stormed to victory on the streets of Tirana, Albania, to take the win on the opening stage of the Giro d’Italia, ahead of a fast-closing Wout van Aert and finish off a masterclass by his Lidl-Trek team, who displayed complete control of the stage after methodically thinning the group on the final two climbs before giving Pedersen a picture-perfect leadout in the final straight. Lidl-Trek’s pace also inadvertently opened up some early intrigue in the race for the overall classification, with Ineos’ Thymen Arensman losing contact and time on the final climb, and Soudal-Quickstep’s Mikel Landa crashing out of the race entirely on the fast descent to the finish line. Meanwhile, Primož Roglič looked utterly comfortable as his Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe squad kept him up front and out of trouble at the toughest moments, signaling that the 2023 overall winner has returned with the form and focus to repeat.

Check out the key moments and takeaways from the stage below:

Stage Top Five:
1) Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) +0
2) Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) +0
3) Orluis Aular (Movistar) +0
4) Francesco Busatto (Intermarché-Wanty) +0
5) Tom Pidcock (Q36.5 Pro Cycling) +0

Stage 1 Race Notebook

BTP is seamlessly following every twist and turn of the Giro d’Italia with the fantastic Tour Tracker app (iPhone/Android/Web)

87.1km-to-go: When the peloton hits the first climb of the day, Visma-Lease a Bike hits the front to set the pace, likely in an effort to soften the legs of Wout van Aert’s sprint rivals. Meanwhile, after riding near the back, UAE’s Juan Ayuso is caught up in a crash and is forced to chase on.

37.3km: When they hit the second (of three) climb of the day, Mads Pedersen’s Lidl-Trek team takes over on the front, lifting the pace enough to drop the majority of the sprinters, including Visma’s Olav Kooij.

15.9km: On the second pass of the same climb, Lidl-Trek is still on the front, with three riders left to support Pedersen. The high pace has finally dropped Kaden Groves while they have gotten a strong leadout rider, Mathias Vacek, over the climb, paving the way for a Pedersen sprint victory. Meanwhile, Van Aert has been left without team support behind. Also notice Primož Roglič directly on the wheel of Van Aert, and the complete absence of the UAE team of Juan Ayuso.

12.2km-11.3km: At the top of the climb, Lidl-Trek is still on the front pressing the pace, which has significantly thinned down the group, even dropping GC hopefuls like Ineos’ Thymen Arensman.

8.3km: The high pace has even caused Van Aert to slip back through the group, while Pedersen looks fantastic as he stays in the top three.

5.3km: While chasing on the descent, Mikel Landa overshoots a tight corner, violently going off the road (and ending his Giro due to a broken vertebra), with Jay Vine following him and also going down.

1.8km: Showing they are completely locked in and fully understand the dangers associated with riding further down in the group near the end of a fast Grand Tour stage, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe is on the front and keeping Roglič out of trouble.

300m: Right before the final sprint, Mads Pedersen is following his perfect leadout from Vacek, while Van Aert is positioned on his wheel. Meanwhile, Movistar’s Orluis Aular is hovering to his left, looking to squeeze between Van Aert and Pedersen’s wheel.

200m: Aular has successfully pushed Van Aert off Pedersen’s wheel, just as the Dane launches his sprint.

100m: Van Aert is stuck between Aular and the barriers as Pedersen gets up to full speed with nothing between him and the finish line.

50m: Van Aert eventually gets around Aular and comes around Pedersen.

Finish: However, Van Aert runs out of road as Pedersen successfully throws his bike to win the stage ahead of the Belgian.

Three Key Stage Takeaways