At 15.1 km, the opening stage of the Giro d'Italia was too long to be called a prologue and it even featured a KOM sprint line only 1.2 km from the start line. Usually the winner of the first stage wins all the jerseys, like Filippo Ganna, the current world champion in the individual time trial, who wears the pink, cyclamen, and white (overall, sprint, and young riders). However, that Cat 4 climb enticed some of the sprinters who knew they couldn't win a time trial, but they could sprint up a short climb to try for the climbers jersey. Some of them opted for a road bike at the starting ramp for just this purpose. Peter Sagan, riding his first Giro d'Italia, almost won it, but another sprinter, Rick Zabel, beat his time at the first intermediate time check, which doubled as at KOM line, by one second. Stage 2 is a hilly stage, so he's not likely to keep the blue climbers' jersey for more than one stage.
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