Watch all the action from the 2023 Giro d'Italia on SBS VICELAND from May 6-28, with all the replays and highlights on plus news, analysis and much more on the SBS Sport website.
Evenepoel crossed the line with 21’18” on the clock to finish 22 seconds ahead of second-placed Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) and a further seven in front of Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates).
Meanwhile, general classification rival Primoz Roglic could not match the pace set by his Belgian rival, with the Jumbo-Visma star finishing 43 seconds slower in sixth.
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Giro d'Italia 2023 Stage 1 Hub
Laurens Huys (Intermarche-Circus-Wanty) was the first down the ramp of the 19.6-kilometre circuit from Fossacesia Marina to Ortona and set the original time to beat at 24’28”.
Campbell Stewart (Team Jayco-AlUla) took almost a minute off Huys’ time, before South Africa’s national time trial champion, Stefan de Bod (EF Education-EasyPost) took the lead with a time of 22’32”.
Bod’s lead lasted almost an hour until Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) shaved 12 seconds off, and then Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates) reset the clock at 22’06”.
Australian Jay Vine was next to take the lead with 22’04” but the UAE Team Emirates rider, too, saw his advantage nullified, this time by Ineos’ Tao Geoghegan Hart who produced a time of 21’58”.
Almeida soon overtook Hart, before Evenepoel, Roglic, Stefan Kung (Groupama-FDJ) and Ganna clocked in within minutes of each other.
By the end of Evenepoel’s ride, however, it was clear the first stage had its winner – the Soudal Quick-Step star simply a cut above his competition.
Watch Stage 2 of the Giro d’Italia live tonight via SBS On Demand from 8:10pm (AEST), with SBS VICELAND joining the coverage at 8:30pm (AEST).
