PREVIEW | Giro d'Italia 2023 stage 2

Preview. After Remco Evenepoel put on a blasting time-trial performance, stage 2 will see the GC riders recollect themselves. This should be a day for the sprinters, but also a very tense one towards the end as the peloton comes in full and fresh to the finish.

The second stage of Giro d'Italia will see the race have it's first bunch sprint, in Abbruzo, where the town of San Salvo will host the finale after 203 kilometers. It's a day for the sprinters, here the fight for the maglia ciclamino will start. It will be an interesting day where the Giro peloton will face each other for the first time, and it will also see a very tense finale as all GC riders will be hoping not to lose time.

Estimated start and finish times for Giro d'Italia stage 2: 12:20-17:15CET

The start of the stage will be rather hilly, but this stage isn't very viable for a breakaway. There will be three small hilltops where the escaping group should go up the road before reaching the sea. Three more small ascents will follow throughout the day but all are within the first two thirds of the day. There will be 72 kilometers to the finish after the final ascent which will be categorized, possibly exposed to wind, and without any meaningful feature.

The finale in San Salvo will be a pure sprinter affair. At sea level the riders face no gradients at all, and most of the final kilometers are on a single road by the coast. The finish line will be in the San Salvo Marina area, the riders will go through a roundabout with 1.3 kilometers and then have a right-hander with 900 meters to go into the finishing straight. This one is still long enough to gain back positions, but there will be a fight for positioning into the roundabout for sure.

The Weather

A small breeze from the east. This will see a cross-headwind throughout most of the day by the coast, there won't be risks of echelons. The final sprint could see a bit of headwind, it'll be important to time it quite well.

The Favourites

Mads Pedersen - The big favourite for the points classification has already shown good form today, but a sprint will be a very different affair. He will have days that'll suit him better, a pure bunch sprint isn't the best suited to the Dane, but in this field I dare to say he does stand good chances of taking a win.

Fernando Gaviria - Gaviria took a strong stage win in Romandie. It was a modest field but it was nevertheless an impressive sprint, here Movistar have brought a strong support team which includes Max Kanter and Albert Torres who should ride quite well in the finale. If they make it work Gaviria can take the stage win with no doubt.

Kaden Groves - How will Groves' form will be after the spring is a good question. His first months with Alpecin-Deceuninck were quite complicated but in late March he got the hang of his rhythm. I guess only when the first sprint comes do we know where he stands now, but on his best day he is a big candidate to take the win.

Alberto Dainese - The Italian is quite an enigma. Here in Italy I trust he will be motivated and DSM do look to have a solid leadout. After winning a stage last year he's proven he can compete and win at this level, he hasn't sprinted for the win since Tirreno-Adriatico but in a day like this he stands his own ground.

Mark Cavendish - This will be a big test. The stage isn't hard and there will be a headwind, he should be able to arrive at the final kilometers fresh. Then what happens after is a different question. In other days, if he manages to contest the sprint here, I'll consider him an outsider. Astana have not provided him with a leadout and he'll very much have to position himself in the finish.

This day will be a bit of a test. No massive conclusions can be taken from it however, the headwind finale does make things more open as riders can behind can benefit from it, but also the sprinter field at the Giro is not as luxurious as usual. We will have plenty outsiders for a result, the likes of Pascal Ackermann, Niccolò Bonifazio and Simone Consonni could benefit from this opportunity greatly in my opinion.

Others to take into consideration will be Michael Matthews, Jonathan Milan, Magnus Cort Nielsen, Filippo Fiorelli, Andrea Vendrame, Jake Stewart and David Dekker. It'll be the first sprint of the race and we'll be able to gauge a bit where the fast men stand.

Prediction Giro d'Italia 2023 stage 2:

*** Fernando Gaviria, Kaden Groves
** Mads Pedersen, Alberto Dainese
* Pascal Ackermann, Niccolò Bonifazio, Simone Consonni, Jonathan Milan, Jake Stewart

Pick: Fernando Gaviria