Uruguay's Guillermo Silva wins crash-marred stage 2 of Giro and claims overall lead
VELIKO TARNOVO, Bulgaria (AP) — Uruguayan cyclist Guillermo Silva won a crash-marred second stage of the Giro d'Italia in a sprint finish and took the overall race lead on Saturday. Silva made some history too as the first Uruguayan to win a Giro stage and to don the maglia rosa. The Maldonado-born rider put his hands on his head in disbelief before playfully sticking out his tongue as he celebrated the biggest win of his career.
“I'm over the moon. It's only my second stage at the Giro d’Italia and I've already managed to win and even take the maglia rosa,” he said. "I was feeling good but I never imagined I could achieve something like this.
” Pre-race favorite Jonas Vingegaard was among four leading riders on the home stretch but they were caught by a big group of sprinters with 300 meters left. Silva's XDS Astana teammate Christian Scaroni put him in an ideal position to attack and he just held off German rider Florian Stork and Italian climbing specialist Giulio Ciccone, who finished third. “I have to thank Christian Scaroni, who helped me both in the chase to the leaders and in setting up the sprint,” Silva said.
“I don't think I’ll ever forget this day. ” They finished the 221-kilometer (137-mile) hilly trek from Burgas to Veliko Tarnovo in north-central Bulgaria, which featured three moderate climbs, in 5 1/2 hours. Silva took the pink jersey from Frenchman Paul Magnier, who won Friday’s opening stage , which was the first of three in Bulgaria and also featured a heavy crash at the end.
In the overall standings, Silva was four seconds ahead of Stork and Colombian Egan Bernal. Vingegaard was 10 seconds back in 15th overall. Heavy crash In the rain on Saturday, Italian Mirco Maestri and Spaniard Diego Pablo Sevilla formed an early breakaway.