UAE Team Emirates kick off pursuit of Giro d’Italia

UAE Team Emirates has begun their pursuit of a first ever Giro d’Italia title, as riders took part in the Individual Time Trial on Stage one of the 101st edition of the race and the opening Grand Tour of the 2018 season.

With the heat exceeding 30 degrees Celsius and providing testing conditions, riders waited patiently for their turn to tackle the 9.7km route, with UAE Team Emirates’ Valerio Conti producing a particularly impressive ride. The Italian, participating in his third Giro d’Italia, finished with a time of 12:31 – 29 seconds behind the day’s fastest rider, Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb), who will start tomorrow’s Stage two wearing the pink jersey, and just eight seconds off the holder of the white jersey, Maximilian Schachmann (Quick-Step Floors).

Commenting on his performance, Conti said: “I liked the hilly course. I put the hammer down on the hills and I took the proper risks, but avoided risking too much. I’m happy with my performance but it’s a pity I missed the white jersey by a few seconds.”

Team captain, Fabio Aru – who was runner up in the 2015 Giro d’Italia – posted a time of 12:52 and will be eyeing the mountain stages in the latter part of the tour to really make his mark.

Reflecting on the ride, Aru said: “Tom Dumoulin exploited one of the stages which suits him most, I did not risk too much because this morning, during the recon, I noticed that the course was complicated. I’m happy the Giro has started, there are 20 days ahead of us for trying to achieve something good. Congratulations to my team mate Conti, his performance today was impressive and he’ll be a precious help for me during the Giro.”

Saturday’s Stage two will see the peloton navigate a relatively flat 167km route down the Mediterranean coastline. Riders won’t expect to face too many challenges during the race, so it will be no surprise if the final metres are contested with a thrilling bunched sprint finish.

Stage One Results

1. Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Sunweb – 12:02

2. Rohan Dennis (Aus) BMC Racing – +00:02

3. Victor Campenaerts (Bel) Lotto Fix All – “

12. Valerio Conti (Ita) UAE Team Emirates – +00:29

Youth Standings
1. Maximilian Schachmann (Ger) Quick-Step Floors – 12:23

2. Valerio Conti (Ita) UAE Team Emirates – +00:08

3. Mads Wurtz Schmidt (Swi) Team Katusha-Alpecin – +00:09