There is always a special feeling, a mixture of excitement and nervousness, before starting a long three-week journey. The Grand Tours are the most physically and mentally demanding of all, the Giro is no exception. In addition to the repetition of the effort, you also have to adapt again to the spotlight, the podiums and the crowds on the roadsides.
This time it's Hungary, that is hosting the start of a "Big Tour" for the first time. The organizers decided to start with a 195 km stage between Budapest and Visegrad, which was more of a puncher's stage. For the Cofidis riders, the goal was to get through the stage safely and to protect their leader, Guillaume Martin. While the pace intensified in the last kilometers, the rider from Normandy, hindered by a few crashes, was able to make the necessary efforts to catch up with the first group. He finished in the company of Davide Villella and Simone Consonni, who did not manage to join the fight for victory against the punchers.
A time-trial in the streets of Budapest.
Tomorrow, the first individual time-trial will take place in the streets of Budapest, the capital of Hungary. There are 9.2 kilometers to cover and the riders will have to be particularly resistant in the final stretch, with a little more than a kilometer of slightly upward slope. With the help of the performance team, they will try to do their best and imitate Simon Geschke, 2nd in the time-trial of the Tour du Romandie last week.
