Guillermo Thomas Silva became the first Uruguayan ever to win a Grand Tour stage after claiming a dramatic sprint finish in stage two of the Giro d’Italia. The race was temporarily neutralized following a crash involving nearly 20 riders at the 198-kilometer mark of the rain-soaked, hilly 221-kilometer route from Burgas to Veliko Tarnovo in Bulgaria.
The crash left several riders injured, forcing Australian Jay Vine and Norwegian Adne Holter to abandon. Spanish rider Florian Stork finished second, while Italy’s Giulio Ciccone took third. XDS Astana rider Silva seized the pink jersey from stage one winner Paul Magnier of France.
“This is only the second stage of my first Giro d’Italia, and I’m the winner. It was a bit unexpected. I’m speechless,” Silva said.
The stage began without Matteo Moschetti, who crashed on Friday and became the first rider to withdraw from the race. Early attackers Mirco Maestri and Diego Pablo Sevilla opened a five-minute lead over the peloton, remaining unchallenged through the climbs to Byala Pass and Vratnik Pass, where Sevilla led to the summit. However, the peloton gradually reeled in the breakaway in rainy conditions, catching them with 27 kilometers remaining once the weather cleared.
The mass crash followed shortly after. Marc Soler appeared to be the first to lose control on the still-slippery road, sparking a chain reaction that sent several riders into or over a guard rail. Vine, the Australian Tour Down Under champion, was taken away on a stretcher and into an ambulance, his race over, while Soler also ended up in hospital.
The race resumed with 18.2 kilometers left. Jonas Vingegaard attacked on the Lyaskovets monastery pass, opening a gap near the summit, with Giulio Pellizzari and Lenny Van Eetvelt chasing down the descent. But with half a kilometer to go, the peloton caught the leading group, setting up a frantic sprint. Silva, 24, prevailed in a photo-finish.
“I just had to keep calm and launch the sprint at the right time… this is the maximum I could hope for,” he added.
The race continues Sunday with a 175-kilometer flat stage from Plovdiv to Sofia, before heading to Italy after a rest day for Tuesday’s ride across Calabria from Catanzaro to Cosenza.