Ripping Through Tirana: Mads Pedersen Wins First Stage of Giro d'Italia 2025 in a Thriller
Top-tier athlete competes in the Giro d'Albania, a cycling event in Albania, where they previously held the title of world champion in sprints.
Hop on your saddle, folks! The cycling pros are hitting the roads, and this time, they're starting theirgrand adventure abroad. Let's dive into the thrilling first stage of the 108th Giro d'Italia in Albania, where Mads Pedersen, the former world champion, made a victorious comeback.
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Mads Pedersen, the Danish cyclist from Lidl-Trek team, claimed the pink jersey of the overall leader on the first stage of the 2025 Giro d'Italia, triumphing in a nail-biting sprint after 160 kilometers in the Albanian capital, Tirana. Belgian Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) came in a close second, and Venezuelan Orluis Aular (Movistar) finished third. This was Pedersen's 51st career win, following his victory in 2023.
"Today was nothing short of spectacular! Apart from the teamwork? Absolutely fantastic," Pedersen exclaimed. "I had the legs to win the stage for the team," added the 29-year-old, experiencing the excitement of wearing a leader's jersey at one of the major tours for the first time in his illustrious career.
The race kicked off in the coastal town of Durres on the Adriatic coast and faced its initial challenge with the Gracen Pass. The final laps to the Surrel Hill, with gradients of up to 13 percent, tested the limits of the cyclists. Tobias Steinhauser (EF Education-Easy Post), who won a stage at last year's Giro, and sprinter Max Kanter (Astana) hit the asphalt, while Steinhauser trailed by 10:37 minutes. The lone German in the leading group was Felix Engelhardt (Team Jayco AlUla) in 14th place.
Despite the absent reigning champion Tadej Pogacar, his Slovenian compatriot Primoz Roglic from the German team Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe finished with the leading group on the first stage. In the upcoming weeks, Roglic is expected to confront attacks from young Spanish rider Juan Ayuso from Pogacar's UAE team.
The Giro will remain in Albania for the second and third stages before moving to Italy. On Saturday, there will be a 13.7-kilometer individual time trial through Tirana for the riders.
The Road Ahead
The first two weeks of the Giro d'Italia 2025 offer unspectacular terrain compared to the brutal mountain stages that lie ahead. The fight for the pink jersey is yet to be decisive, with several sprint stages and some medium-difficulty mountain stages, as well as two shorter time trials. However, week three is set to be a nail-biting spectacle, with challenging mountain stages that will surely test the limits of the contestants.
After 3413 kilometers, the Giro will end on May 31 in Rome, in memory of the late Pope Francis, with the professionals riding through the Vatican for the first time.
Sources: ntv.de, tsi/sid
[1] Mads Pedersen - Wikipedia[2] 2025 Giro d'Italia - Wikipedia[3] List of winners of the Giro d'Italia - Wikipedia
- Mads Pedersen's victory in the 2025 Giro d'Italia's first stage coincides with the event's international tour, as it takes place in Albania's capital, Tirana.
- In addition to Mads Pedersen, who hails from the Lidl-Trek team, other notable cyclists like Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Orluis Aular (Movistar) also participated in this 160-kilometer race.
- The duration of the 2025 Giro d'Italia is 3413 kilometers, ending in Rome on May 31, with a significant moment being the professionals' passage through the Vatican for the first time in memory of the late Pope Francis.
