Poor old Svein Tuft. He's waited a life time to become a leader of a Grand Tour only for it to last one day and for that day to be so wet and cool that he had his Pink jersey covered by a rain mack throughout. At least it didn't get dirty and if he was going to lose it to anyone I suppose it might as well have been a team-mate, Michael Matthews. Matthews mixed it up in the inevitable bunch sprint, won inevitably by Marcel Kittel, and while he didn't finish in the top three to gain a time-bonus, the sprinters did split from the rest of the pack by three seconds, enough to put him into the race lead given he started the day on the same time as Tuft.
It was a nice moment for Matthews but a historic moment for Kittel as he became just the 84th rider to win a stage in all three Grand Tours with his first Giro win to go with four stage wins in the Tour de France and one in the Vuelta.
The conditions for the race reminded me a little of this years Milan-San Remo when the race turned onto the Ligurian Sea cost road and I know I wasn't the only one who looked at the riders grinding along and thought that this part of the world could stage a very good spring classic if they included some of the hills along that part of the country that the Giro felt the need to keep out this early in a Grand Tour.
Luckily for the locals who did stand out all day waiting for the race to whizz by, there was the obligatory all-day breakaway to watch first before seeing the peloton a few minutes later. Maarten Tjallingii, Jeffry Johan Romero Corredor, Sander Armee and Andrea Fedi were the four that decided to make a day of it off the front of the race and while it was always inevitable the bunch would being the race back together with expert timing, you couldn't help but hope that one or all of them could somehow manage to hang in.
Tjallingii came the closest. He left his three companions behind late, when the bunch were under a minute from the catch, and tried in vein to keep a gap, hoping that the large amount of street furniture on the run in back to Belfast might stem the chase. It didn't and he got swept up in time for the sprinters to sort out the spoils.
Tjallingii won't be too disappointed however. He collected maximum points on the two king of the mountains and will pull on the first blue jersey of the 2014 Giro. Like wise, Kittel is now in the red points leaders jersey thanks to his haul at the finishing line.
With the wet conditions there was always the potential for more chaos to go with what faced Garmin in yesterday's team-time-trial, but for the most part everyone stayed upright and all lived to fight another day. As a result the talking point was squarely on the fans that have made this opening weekend of the Giro such a success and for the country itself for turning from a nation of green to one of pink.
The support, the numbers, and the enthusiasm of the people watching has been huge and it has rewarded the organizers decision to bring the race out of congenital Europe for the first time and to a place many must have raised an eyebrow to when they first heard the decision.
Normally we're full of praise for these fine athletes who go out in all sorts of tough conditions and race, and this was no different as the rain fell throughout, but it was the fans who impressed me the most. They'd be forgiven for having gotten fed up with the rain and gone home, but nobody did. Every town the race went through the streets were lined with people in pink. At times the crowds were three and four deep and lasted from the entry point to the town to the exit and even in the countryside there were people standing on the grass at the side of the road, getting soaked but cheering the race through. It was mightily impressive given that many of those out watching were doing so to experience the sight of the Giro rather than as hardened cycling fans. I dare say however that cycling has received itself a few new hardened fans as a result of this weekend.
The rain may have spoilt the scenery, but only a little. It was still weather beaten Northern Ireland at its best. Lush green hillsides banking down into the cold Irish Sea and a road cut into those hills on which the Giro peloton travelled. Horses were dyed pink and ran along one beach as the race travelled on the road beside it. Even the electricity pylons were coloured pink. Paint sales in the colour must have gone through the roof in the past week. If this is the new standard by which other hosts for such an occasion must follow then they've got their work cut out for them.
And it continues again tomorrow as things move from Belfast to Armagh for the start and the race heads south and out of Northern Ireland for the ride down to Dublin. A bunch sprint will probably follow, but so will thousands of spectators.
Result
1. Marcel Kittel (Giant-Shimano), 219 km in 5-13-12
2. Nacer Bouhanni (FDJ.fr)
3. Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek Factory)
4. Elia Vivani (Cannondale)
5. Roberto Ferrari (Lampre-Merida)
6. Manuel Belletti (Androni Giocattoli) all same time
