Giro d'Italia

Remco Evenepoel collected his 18th Grand Tour leader’s jersey at the end of stage 2, which travelled from Tortona to San Salvo, over a mainly flat 202km course. Only the second reigning World Champion to top the Giro d’Italia general classification this century, the 23-year-old was resplendent in the famed maglia rosa during Sunday’s journey in the province of Chieti, flanked at all times by his Soudal Quick-Step teammates.

The day belonged to a five-man breakaway until twenty kilometers to go, when the group was reabsorbed by the peloton. The finale was far from being a quiet one, due to a crash that took many riders down just four kilometers from the line. Luck was on Evenepoel’s side, who escaped the incident and concluded with the reduced main group, from where Jonathan Milan (Bahrain Victorious) sprinted to victory.

“We did well to stay out of trouble. That was the plan and I’m glad it worked out, although that crash wasn’t nice at all. Fortunately, I wasn’t caught in that incident”, said Remco right after the stage. “Apart from that, it was a pretty quiet day, one which was special, as I got to wear the pink jersey for the first time in my career. I enjoyed every single moment, and it was really nice to receive a lot of encouragement from the fans on the side of the road.”

Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images