Signore, signori, welcome back to Italy! Today, we'll have the first out of six flat stages in the 2020 Giro d'Italia - and it will be the first stage with the new GT points system! So the winner will get 50 points - an attempt to attract more sprinters.
Well, it didn't work too well, as only two of the world's Top 20 sprinters have made the trip here (with many of those riding in PCT anyway, to be honest). But before talking about the ones who are here, let's lose some words about today's route!
After yesterday's opening stage, we moved about 50km North-East from Sanremo, along the Ligurian coast, to reach today's starting venue: Albenga. This city has about 25,000 inhabitants and was built in the 2nd century BC by the Romans. It became an important location of the Roman Empire, and became wealthy especially by participation in the first Crusade. Today, the economy is mostly based on tourism; among the main sights are the Cathedral and many remains of the Roman culture, including an amphitheatre.
Interestingly, the city was invaded in 1251 by the Repubblica di Genova, whose capital obviously was today's finish location, Genova. Still situated on the Riviera, the Ligurian capital is Italy's sixth largest city, counting around 600,000 inhabitants. Its seaport made Genova an important commercial hub through the ages, bringing a lot of wealth to the city. Nowadays, it's still the most nearby port for the industrial regions of Milano and Torino - and even for the Southern part of Switzerland. But tourism has gained a lot of importance lately as well - lots of historical buildings have therefore been restored; the city core, mainly built in the Middle Ages, and the many palaces are definitely worth a sight!
But not for the riders, who will be more interested in points and jerseys today - and most of these points can of course be won on the finish line. But there's as well an intermediate sprint, in Vado Ligure, after almost 2/3 of the race. And then, there's a 4th category climb as well, the Prato Zanino, with about 40km to go. The first and much longer hill in this stage is not classified.
But these obstacles shouldn't be difficult enough to get rid of the sprinters - which is why they are named as today's favorites! And so we are back to those two sprinters already mentioned at the beginning: Kennaugh and Demare. These two are named as today's top favorites, along with Eislers. Appollonio, Van Poppel and Afewerki get two stars by the bookies, with one star awarded to Meyer, Granjel Cabrera, Nizzolo - and Maglia Rosa Hsu.
Let's see if the leader can defend his lead - or even extend it - or if Meyer, Granjel Cabrera or even Appollonio can get the pink jersey! And of course, there will be many attackers as well, who might take the lead by winning the intermediate sprint - let's jump straight into the action!
Before we definitely start the race, let's lose some words about the weather. We have about 10 degrees less than yesterday, just around 20. The weather is slightly cloudy - but more importantly, there's a breeze blowing from the sea inland, meaning we'll have crosswinds for most of the race. Only with 15-20km/h, but still - the riders should better be prepared!
And now, the first "real" stage is on! You might be surprised to see the sea to the "wrong" side, as Genova lies North-East - and the riders have left Albenga South-West! Well, that's because they first do a lap around the starting venue, including the first obstacle of the day!
But right now, we're still down at sea level, and Daniel is the first attacker of this Giro! He is followed by Kosic, Dewulf, Setiawa, Frison and - with a small gap - Barthe.
However, Madouas is having none of it, shutting down this first move just a few moments later.
As soon as the speed drops, the next riders try to escape - Holmes, Boom and Setiawa.
Lierse SK respond with kind of a team attack, with Sajnok, Covi, Gamper and Fedeli all on the attack, chasing Barthe who was the first to try to bridge the gap.
Of this team attack, it is Gamper who finally gets clear, and has now caught Barthe who's struggling to catch the leaders. Daniel is on the move again as well.
It ain't over yet! Wolf, Hofstede, Sajnok and Vermeltfoort are next.
But eBuddy's goal wasn't actually to attack, rather to reel everyone back in and calm down the race. And that's what Vermeltfoort finally does.
However, calming down a race with no more breakaway ahead isn't really possible, so Boom, Setiawa and Holmes are trying their luck again!
Lierse SK aren't happy about having missed out on that move, and so they start chasing again, this time "just" with 3 riders.
They were actually building an ideal launch pad for Fedeli's attack, who breaks away as we're already closing in on the first real ascent of this Giro. He easily sprints past Holmes, who hasn't been able to catch up with Boom and Setiawa so far.
And now we start the climb up to Testico, a small village above Albenga. It's a rather easy warm-up, with the average gradient below 5%. After a short descent, the road will rise again, before starting to flatten out as the riders reach San Damiano.
From there, the riders will descend back to Albengo, before actually heading to Genova.
That's the end of the breakaway for Holmes, who just couldn't keep up with Fedeli when the Italian passed him, and so he's reeled in by Gradek. The Slovenian formation would apparently like to get someone into the breakaway, too!
Up front, Setiawa has left behind Boom, who was already overtaken by Fedeli. The pack is just 25" behind the Dutchman in 3rd position - let's see if he can retain the gap!
Actually, the chase ceases in the peloton shortly afterwards. Fedeli has closed in on Setiawa, being the first one to reach the end of the first climb. Boom is struggling to close the gap, but now already has 2'07" on the pack. The gap to the front duo is 26".
Boom has finally done it, just after having crossed the top of Passo del Ginestro. With the gap being almost 3 minutes now, we can definitely talk of our Breakaway of the Day!
Although it is likely that the sprinter teams won't want to miss this first out of just six occasions for a bunch sprint, let's still try to assess everyone's chances for a stage win!
Boom, despite his age, is easily the most complete rider of this trio. He's by far the strongest on the flat, and about as strong as the others on the hills. Furthermore, he's got the best resistance. But: he can't sprint. Not at all. But he can descend well - even though making use of this would mean an attack with about 35km to go!
Setiawa and Fedeli are similar riders, both being slightly better hill riders than the Dutchman, but much weaker on the flat. While the former has the best stamina, the latter is the best sprinter - although none of the three should really be called sprinters. So it would be a pretty wide open race if they were to fight for the stage win - let's see that in 120 kilometers!
In the peloton, the teams of the GC favorites have meanwhile taken command, with Ivars and Harper up front. They can look down on the road they just climbed up, knowing they'll soon be back at sea level.
The gap has now reached the three minutes mark, let's see how far they let the escapees ride away.
The leading trio has just reached the start area, where many fans have stayed to watch this second passage. Fedeli, Setiawa and Boom have however lost half a minute, due to not always agreeing on the split of the workload.
Almost 60 kilometers are done, about 100 are remaining - let's go to Genova now! And just as they reach the seaside, the wind is weakening, greatly lowering the danger of echelons!
Not much of interest happens within the next 20 kilometers, except for the wind slightly rising again - still below 15km/h, though.
Bayly then is the first rider in this race to have a puncture - a first he'd have liked to do without, for sure! However, given that the speed isn't really high yet, he easily gets back into the pack within the next few kilometers.
The next interesting happening then is already the intermediate sprint, with 64.5km to go! Fedeli proves that he indeed is the strongest sprinter of the group and takes it.
Remember, with the new points scheme for GT flat stages, we also have increased points at the intermediate sprints, meaning there are still two scoring spots available for the peloton!
While we can easily see Kennaugh claiming 2 points, it's a really close call for the final point between Appollonio and Van Poppel! Finally, the judges decide to award it to the Dutchman, hence we have the following result:
Both Italians come just short - Appollonio and Nizzolo will likely have another chance at the finish line to get their first points. Demare didn't even bother at all.
However, we already know that it will take the stage win to wear the first Maglia Ciclamino - these minor points could be useful at some time nonetheless!
The peloton's deficit is down to 1'41", by the way.
The pace drops again in the pack, making the deficit jump back up to 2 minutes. 60km to go, about 20km to the start of today's sole categorized climb. The sprinter teams have definitely taken over now.
The riders are about to tackle the category 4 climb up to Prato Zanino. Despite it being less than 3km long, this hill will be a first test for the riders' legs, with an average slope of 7.6% and sections of up to 12%! With yet another bump after the descent, gaps are not unlikely to occur!
The leaders have left the seaside and are just inside the first meters of this hill. The first on top will wear the Maglia Azzurra tomorrow - that's a simple formula. Who gets to wear this jersey first?
With one kilometer to the top, Boom attacks as soon as the road is flattening out again! But with him being the worst sprinter, can he hold on and get that jersey?
No, he can't, as Setiawa overtakes him a few meters before the line. Fedeli will be disappointed about this missed opportunity to wear a special jersey at his home GT!
1. Setiawa - 5
2. Boom - 3
3. Fedeli - 1
The pack rode this climb at about the same pace as the breakaway, crossing the top 1'49" later. The sprinter teams are still doing the work, with Taaramäe being very attentive as well in 8th position.
After a short descent back to the seaside, the leaders are about to reach the top of the last small bump of the stage - the last 30km will be flat! 1'33" of advantage left.
Several gaps are occurring in the pack - and several sprinters or leadouts are caught at the wrong side of the splits! Kuboki, Boudat, Suryadi, Aregger, Major, Zhao, Cullaigh - and Granjel Cabrera!
But we have as well several lower-tier GC riders, just as the U25 favorites Roman and Bernal, but as well top puncheurs Izagirre and McCarthy or TTer Coppel.
They are likely to close that gap again - but with those crosswinds on the final 30km - and the wind now blowing at about 15km/h - they should be more careful from now on!
Fedeli decides to get some more TV time for his team, and attacks his companions!
An attack that works out just like most of this kind do: not at all.
Some more gaps are opening, and now a group of only 19 riders is ahead of the pack - with Air France and Team Puma pushing hard, this could actually be pretty nasty for some riders! However, the top GC competitors as well as the two top sprinters are ahead.
20km left for the breakaway - but with the high speed in the pack, the gap has melted down to 53"!
The peloton again counts 112 riders, but those who were caught behind first are still struggling to catch up with those ahead!
The pack keeps on pushing relentlessly, and so the breakaway is over with 14km to go. First for Boom, a little later for Setiawa and Fedeli, too. At least, the Indonesian gets something from this stage, namely the blue KoM jersey!
With 12.5km to go, the pack is almost back at full strength - but Dewulf just didn't have the forces to keep up anymore, now trailing by more than 5 minutes already.
So the dark clouds that have appeared ahead quite precisely match his mood... Will we even get some rain?
10km remaining, and Sagiv seems to be a bit over-motivated! His team is still pushing hard, trying to discourage any late attackers - given that there are not many really strong sprinter teams, such an attempt could actually be successful...
Besides Demare and Kennaugh, we actually see rather more GC contenders than sprinters ahead in the pack right now - but that will surely change in the next few kilometers.
It indeed changed - and so did the weather, as it has started raining now!
The riders are quite scattered on these extremely wide roads, with Team Puma still leading the charge, ahead of Aker - MOT! The latter definitely don't have a decent sprinter here, but they're putting in a huge effort to protect their leader.
Only three kilometers left, and the speed in the pack has drastically dropped! Apparently, the helpers are pretty much done, and the front of the pack just moves at about 30km/h - allowing the struggling riders to catch up again, and the sprinters to get a good position!
With 1.5km remaining, the pack is almost standing still, with Castrillo leading. There seem to be some sprint trains building up, but definitely not pushing - we're down to 27km/h, on a just very slightly inclined road! Is that the fatigue kicking in already on day two?
Just under the Fiamma Rossa - the red kite - the sprinters have finally woken up - but Team Puma are leading out things quite chaotically. Let's look at what's happening:
Aregger
Hsu
Niu
Meyer
Cavagna
Demare
Appollonio
Kennaugh
Granjel Cabrera
Sagiv
Van Poppel
Eislers
Nizzolo
Contreras
Despite the slow speed just before, Goss, Cullaigh, Zhao and Afewerki have completely missed this move and will have to up their speed immediately if they want to get even some minor points out of this stage!
300m later, Aregger is still leading, but the Swiss is clearly slowing down - not really having been helpful to his leader at all.
Said leader, Demare, is in a 3-way-fight with Meyer and race leader Hsu, while Appollonio has just left the latter's slipstream.
Granjel Cabrera, Kennaugh and Van Poppel are 6th to 8th, while Contreras, Eislers and Nizzolo are another bike length behind!
Demare has taken the lead with 500m to go! He's slightly ahead of the trio Meyer, Appollonio and Hsu, who is fighting hard to hold on to his race lead!
Kennaugh is quickly closing in now, while Granjel Cabrera and Van Poppel are slightly slower than the Brit. Nizzolo is about to overtake the Dutchman, while Contreras is trying the same thing with Granjel Cabrera. Eislers and Aregger round off this first "group".
Goss has finally woken up and is trying to catch up. The same holds for Cullaigh in the middle of the road and Kanter on the left roadside. Castrillo and Taaramäe currently are in the mix for a Top 15 result, too!
With 300m to the line, Demare still has a slight edge over Meyer and Appollonio! Hsu has lost some speed - which could cost him dear, if Meyer holds on to a Top 3, or if Appollonio takes the win!
Kennaugh is the one who's moving fastest right now, closely followed by Van Poppel and Nizzolo. On the other side, Granjel Cabrera might find it hard to break through the front row. Eislers and Contreras currently take the last Top 10 spots and are still looking to move up!
200m to go, and we still have a duel Demare - Appollonio! Meyer is slightly fading now, which is good news for Hsu - who himself is about to be overtaken by Kennaugh, who's doing a great finish - does he remember stage 5 in Qatar?
Granjel Cabrera and Van Poppel are about level, and so are Nizzolo and Contreras. Eislers however doesn't seem to find the next gear!
150m to the line, and it's pretty much impossible to tell if Appollonio or Demare is ahead right now! Meyer, Hsu and Kennaugh currently are 3rd to 5th - but Granjel Cabrera has now found his speed, too!
Van Poppel is still trying to fight off Nizzolo, while Eislers is finally accelerating as well, now being at the same height as Contreras.
To the right, we can see Cullaigh and Kanter sprinting into the picutre - but they're way too far behind to get a top result today!
With 100m left, Appollonio now has a slight advantage over Demare, while Meyer, Hsu and Kennaugh are fighting for 3rd - which is actually a fight for the Maglia Rosa, too! And with Granjel Cabrera closing in, we have 4 possible GC leaders in contention - a great show!
Van Poppel, Nizzolo, Eislers and Contreras still are clearly behind the Top 6.
Goss, whom we didn't see in the previous picutre, is actually in 11th position, ahead of Cullaigh and Kanter.
Demare tries to strike back on the final 50 meters - it's really a head-to-head between the Frenchman and local hero Appollonio!
Kennaugh, Hsu, Granjel Cabrera and Meyer still are fighting for 3rd - although not much is missing to even win the stage!
But even Van Poppel, Eislers, Nizzolo and Contreras have come really close now!
It's Davide Appollonio! The Italian wins stage two of the Giro d'Italia, ahead of Arnaud Demare!
And the Italian might actually even take the Maglia Rosa - if neither Hsu nor Meyer get the final podium spot!
And so it is! With a great finish, Raul Granjel Cabrera pips Peter Kennaugh to the line!
Meanwhile, dethroned GC leader Hsuan Ping Hsu has to settle for 5th, ahead of Cameron Meyer. What a close finale, though!
Danny Van Poppel comes in on 7th place, while the judges have to review the TV images to decide whether Ingus Eislers or Emiliano Contreras gets 8th - they rule in favor of the latter. Giacomo Nizzolo has to settle for a disappointing 10th place today.
The final points scoring positions go to Matthew Goss, Gabriel Cullaigh, Max Kanter, Jaime Castrillo and Jingbiao Zhao.
Rein Taaramäe has to settle for 16th - not bad for an awful sprinter, actually! The Top 20 are rounded off by Kenneth Vanbilsen, Andrei Amador, Morgan Kneisky and Warren Barguil.
The greatest disappointment today is definitely the performance of Afewerki, who never really got into the mix and finishes only 27th - way behind his designated leadout Kanter!
Well, we may have a rather weak GT sprinter field again, but nonetheless we had a thrilling final 1,000 meters - with a well deserved and extremely happy winner:
Here is Davide Appollonio! The Italian edged out Arnaud Demare in a really close fight, while Raul Granjel Cabrera got 3rd place with a strong final push.
And in addition to his first GT stage win, the local hero even gets to wear the Maglia Rosa, being the new GC leader in his home GT! What a day for him - and newly promoted team Volvo!
He leads the GC one second ahead of Hsuan Ping Hsu, Ka Hoo Fung and their teammates from King Power. He had a small chance of getting that GC lead today - and he did it!
As all good things come in threes, Davide Appollonio makes a third apparition on stage - this time to put on the Maglia Ciclamino, the points jersey! He leads with 50 points, ahead of Arnaud Demare with 30 and both Raul Granjel Cabrera and Peter Kennaugh with 20. The two points the Brit gained at the intermediate sprint get him to the same number of points as the Cuban.
The first Maglia Azzurra - the best climber's jersey - goes to Andreas Odie Purnama Setiawa, as announced during the stage. The podium is identical to the order at the only categorized climb so far, so he leads with his 5 points ahead of Lars Boom with 3 and Alessandro Fedeli with 1 point.
However, tomorrow we'll have quite some more points at stake - he'll have a hard time defending the jersey, but it's surely great for him to take it today!
With today's winner being far off U25 eligibility, Hsuan Ping Hsu retains the Maglia Bianca, ahead of his teammates Ka Hoo Fung and Yuttana Mano. Pavel Sivakov in 4th place - one second behind - is the first non- King Power rider in this classification.
And with no time gaps between any teams today, King Power also retain the lead in this standing, one second ahead of Team Tinkoff - La Datcha and Bennelong - Mitchelton.
This rounds off today's second stage. We had a really messy sprint preparation, with no-one willing (or able?) to lead inside the last 3 kilometers - and then a chaotic sprint kicking off under the banner. Nonetheless, the strongest sprinters fought it out, and Davide Appollonio - maybe with some home rider bonus - was the strongest and is our new GC leader!
Tomorrow will be a different day, with some much harder obstacles - will any sprinter besides (very probably) Demare make it across the hills? Or will even the GC contenders fight it out for the stage win? Tune in again tomorrow for stage number three!
Giro d'Italia 
