ROME — Paul Magnier won the opening stage of the 2026 Giro d’Italia in a bunch sprint, after a late crash left most of the peloton out of contention.
Frenchman Magnier pipped Tobias Lund Andresen in a frantic finish following 147 kilometres of largely flat racing from Nessebar to Burgas, in the first of the three early stages which are being held in Bulgaria.
He was one of a handful of riders who were ahead of a crash 600 metres from the line which left the rest of the field to roll home in the knowledge that they would not lose any time due the proximity of the accident to the finish.
Jonas Vingegaard, who rode with one fingernail painted red in support of a children’s welfare charity, was one of those in the main pack held up by the crash, Reuters reported.
Dane Vingegaard is the favourite for overall victory and on Saturday will be in the peloton for a hilly 221km ride from Burgas to Veliko Tarnovo.
