Video: Massive pile-up disrupts chaotic sprint in Giro opening stage

After a nervous run-in, a crash occurred 600 metres from the finish on a fairly narrow approach. The first rider to go down was Erlend Blikra (Uno-X Mobility) after a clipping of wheels, which caused a domino effect behind, taking the likes of Dylan Groenewegen (Unibet Rose Rockets), Matteo Moschetti (Pinarello-Q36.5), and Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Premier Tech) out of contention for the stage win.

Around ten riders were ahead of the crash and were still able to sprint for victory, with Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step) taking the win ahead of Tobias Lund Andresen (Decathlon CMA CGM) in second and Ethan Vernon (NSN Cycling Team) in third.

At the finish, Blikra gave his initial reaction to the incident. “I haven't seen the footage really close yet, but it was a real narrow road in the end, and yeah, I just got clipped, my front wheel,” explained Blikra to TNT Sports. “I don't know if it was anybody's mistake, but I was the first guy down, and that’s not great.”

Lund Andresen also gave his view on the crash. “It happened on my right side,” he said to CyclingPro.net. “Everyone was going crazy, just as I expected. I think there were elbows being given, so it was inevitable.”