Patrick Lefevere doesn't intend on keeping pink jersey over opening week: "The days after that, anything is possible"

Soudal - Quick-Step have started off the Giro d'Italia with a bang. Remco Evenepoel has won the initial time-trial and took on the pink jersey, Patrick Lefevere shares his thoughts on the opening day and the lead of the race which the team now holds.

"We have been quite serene going into this. There was absolutely no stress in the team. But that doesn't mean it was easy," Lefevere told at the finish line in Ortona. "This was not a course that favored Remco. On the contrary, on those flat strips going up against Filippo Ganna, a bear of 85 kilograms, that is very punishing."

Despite featuring a mostly pan-flat profile, Evenepoel obliterates the raw power of Filippo Ganna. He had already asserted a winning time by the time he got to the final hilltop, where he further expanded the differences. Although it is only the first day of the race, having taken 43 seconds on Primoz Roglic has the potential to set the storyline in the first half of the race.

"I only see that Remco answers with the pedals. People used to sometimes accuse him of having a thick neck, but you won't see that anytime soon now," Lefevere continued. "Whether we want to keep the pink in the team? We can't just give away our lead, of course. Tomorrow we can hopefully count on the help of the sprinters' teams. But the days after that, anything is possible."