GIRO - STAGE 1 
GETTING READY BEFORE THE FIRST SPRINT!

The 104th edition of the Giro began this afternoon in the streets of Turin with an 8.6 km prologue. The Cofidis riders have been working hard and are already looking ahead to their first major objective: make the most of the sprint in Novara on Sunday. 

The Giro has returned to its traditional place in the calendar at the beginning of May. This 104th edition promises to be a challenging one, and the 27,000 meters of climbing to be done will be enough to convince you. To begin with, 8.6 km had to be covered in the streets of Turin on Saturday. After a precious work of the mechanics, the Cofidis riders completed it with great dedication and diligence.

HEADING TO A FIRST MASSIVE SPRINT!

Now the whole team is focused on tomorrow. On the program: 179 km between Nichelino, located in the metropolitan area of Turin, and Novara. A stage without any major difficulties that should be ideal for a big sprint encounter.

The Cofidis team will do everything to help Elia Viviani to be in the best position to fight for the final victory. Nicolas Edet, Victor Lafay, Rémy Rochas and Natnael Berhane will support their leader throughout the day. In the last couple of kilometres, the Italian trio: Fabio Sabatini, Simone Consonni and Attilio Viviani will be taking over to get the best possible position until the finish line.

After the last victory in Cholet in March and recovering from a crash in Belgium, Elia Viviani is not hiding his desire to stand out. "There will be five or six sprints during the Giro, but we know that we should do everything to win as soon as possible," said the former European champion during the briefing on Friday. Even though the sprint will be highly competitive, Cofidis will be motivated and eager to make the most of it.  

THEY SAID

ELIA VIVIANI: "It's always good to start the Giro directly with a time-trial to get into the mood. Today, Filippo Ganna was too strong and it's impossible for a sprinter to think he'll be in time for the pink jersey. On our side, we know that we have to be focused on the sprints and the first one is tomorrow. We feel confident and we want to be part of the battle for the victory. It will be a long but flat stage without any major difficulty. In the final, despite some traffic circles, it will be a real massive sprint. If the team is united and well positioned until the end, I am sure we can make the difference and win the stage." 

ROBERTO DAMIANI, team manager: "All the riders in the team tried to do their best today. Of course, we don't have any specialists in time-trial, but our riders took it seriously and that was essential.  From now on, we will focus on tomorrow. There are few stages dedicated to sprinters in this Giro and this will be an opportunity not to be missed. We will have to watch over the scenario of the race to make sure it ends in a sprint. In the final, it will be important to be well positioned. Fabio, Simone and Attilio will do everything to put Elia in the best position possible. We have only one goal: victory! "   

STAGE 1 (179 KM)