Giro d'Italia, the pink jersey goes to Uruguayan Silva. Vingegaard and Pellizzari tease each other

It is a Giro d'Italia with several surprises, not all of them pleasant, what comes out of the second stage (Burgas-Veliko Tarnovo, 210 km) of the Bulgarian triptych, which acts as an appetizer to the Corsa Rosa, deeply affected by a maxi crash that involved dozens of riders about 23 kilometres from the finish. A disastrous fall, caused by the slippery asphalt due to the rain, that decimated the Uae Emirates, forcing Vine and Soler to retire and jeopardising the ambitions of the captain, Adam Yates, who arrived at the finish line bloodied and muddy with over 13 minutes delay.

The second piece of news, this one more curious and less dramatic, is that for the first time at the Giro d'Italia a Uruguayan rider not only wins the stage but also takes the pink jersey. This had never happened in the long history of the Giro. He was Guillermo Silva, 24, a rookie of Xds-Astana, who preceded German Floran Stork and our Giulio Ciccone in the final sprint. He was followed by Scaroni and Pellizzari. For Silva, who had so far only won races of secondary importance, it was an unforgettable day. In fact, the news immediately rebounded in Uruguay where celebrations broke out. "Me, pink jersey? I still can't believe it...', commented the new Giro leader, more dazed than fatigued. He now leads the classification ahead of Stork and Bernal (+4"), Arensmann and Ciccone (+6"). Dane Vingegaard, the big favourite of the Giro, is ten seconds behind our Giulio Pellizzari.

The third novelty in this stage was the entry of the big guns, namely Vingegaard and Pellizzari. Normally this does not happen: at the start, in fact, the big guys stay well hidden in the belly of the peloton. Instead, on the first climb of the Giro, that of Monastero, about 11 kilometres from the finish, sparks were immediately ignited by Vingegaard who, with two sharp accelerations, shattered the group. The only one to keep up with him, who was then also followed by the Belgian Van Eeetvelt, was the Marche rider. The trio, after gaining some twenty seconds due to a few too many indecisions, were then caught by the chasers with the victorious sprint of Silva, who liquidated Stork and Ciccone.

What to say? First real clash of the super-favourites or just a little starter to whet the appetite? The truth probably lies somewhere in between: the two, like all rivals, did a bit of filming to see what the effect is. The Dane, after the maxi fall, perhaps preferred to get ahead of the pack before getting into more trouble. And our Giulio, to show him that he's not bluffing, immediately took his wheel. As two boxers do when the referee, before the match, puts them one in front of the other. Chest out, mean eyes, that healthy boldness to show who's boss.

However, in a stage that should have been reserved for the second lines only, we didn't mind seeing them in action straight away. Of course, they could have gone for the stage win while they were at it. In short, they could have closed the race on a high note. Instead they scored 30, not 31. A volley of blanks. There are still three weeks to go. They'll have plenty of time to play it better.