Mixed day for Aussies in Giro d'Italia with Jay Vine fighting back after nasty crash
Former world champion Mads Pedersen has grabbed the first pink jersey in the 108th edition of the Giro d'Italia on a bruising day for the Australian challenge in Albania.
Danish star Pedersen outsprinted Belgian standout Wout van Aert by half a wheel to grab the honours in the opening stage of the Grande Partenza, a hilly 160km trek from Durres to the capital Tirana as the great race went across the Adriatic to Albania for the first time.
But Australian ace Jay Vine, fresh from finishing on the podium at the Tour de Romandie, suffered a crash five kilometres from home and ended up finishing almost four minutes adrift.
At least UAE Team Emirates rider Vine avoided the fate of the luckless Spaniard Mikel Landa, whose crash just ahead of him had prompted the Australian's own spill as he tried to take evasive action.
Landa, a GC hope, had to be taken away on a stretcher with his race over after crashing into a kerb and tipping over. It was later reported the 35-year-old four-time Grand-Tour stage winner had suffered a fractured vertebra.
Queenslander Kaden Groves, who had hoped to get over the climbs still in touch to challenge for the jersey, found the task too taxing, along with plenty of the other top sprinters, as he ended over another minute-and-a-half behind Vine.
But the main Australian hope for overall race victory, Tour of the Alps winner Michael Storer, came home safely among the 36-strong leading bunch along with 2022 winner Jai Hindley, Damien Howson and Chris Harper.
Lidl-Trek's Pedersen, the 2019 world champ, celebrated his second Giro stage win, having also won in Naples two years ago, but it's the first time in his distinguished career that he's worn the leader's jersey in a Grand Tour. Venezuela's Orluis Aular crossed third.
'To win the stage and go into the pink jersey is absolutely amazing, especially after teamwork like this,' Pedersen said after ousting the charging Visma-Lease a Bike luminary van Aert.
'You always have to be afraid of Wout, he's a really good bike rider. It's not a given to win when he's in the group, and you have to handle that with respect and a bit of fear as well. But today I had the legs to finish it off for the team.'
One of the other top contenders Juan Ayuso, for whom Vine will be working in the mountains, also crashed early on a roundabout but was unhurt and finished safely in the pack along with race favourite Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe).
The race remains in Albania for two more days before it returns to Italy, with stage two on Saturday a 13.7km individual time trial in Tirana, where race favourite Primoz Roglic will be expected to shine.
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