Sam Bennett urges team mate Lukas Pöstlberger to Giro win
Lukas Pöstlberger claimed the biggest result of his career today with victory on the opening stage of the Giro d'Italia. The 24-year old Austrian will wear the race leader's pink jersey tomorrow while his Bora-Hansgrohe team also have the climbers jersey, the sprinters jersey and the best young rider.
By Brian Canty
The winner of the An Post Rás in 2015, Lukas Pöstlberger (Bora-Hansgrohe), has taken an incredible win on the opening stage of the Giro d’Italia.
Irishman Sam Bennett was 10th after telling his team to urge Pöstlberger's lone escape on so he might take the victory.
The 25-year old Austrian upset all the sprinters who were just about to pull the trigger behind him for the gallop.
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It’s unsure if Postlberger actually intended to do what he did. He went to the front in the final kilometrs and simply rode the whole bunch off his wheel.
They certainly were not hanging around on the run-in to the finish-line. But Postlberger gapped the peloton with a ferocious pull that nobody could close.
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He looked behind him a few times to see where Bennett was. But when the latter shouted in his hear to keep going, Postlberger pinned his ears back and rode the final kilometre on the front.
He was so strong that he celebrated 50 metres before the finish and at that point Bennett was already celebrating behind as the others contested the minor placings.
Caleb Ewan (Orica Scott) blasted clear of the others for second with Andre Greipel (Lotto Soudal) third. Italian champion Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek-Segafredo) was fourth.
"We wanted to try for a sprint for the final for Sam.
"Through the city the lead-out trains, I don’t know, they lost my wheel or something and I had a gap," explained Pöstlberger, who was making his Grand Tour debut.
“I heard over the radio, ‘C’mon, Posty go try!’ and I put all I have in.
“It worked out, victory for the team, first professional victory for me - maglia rosa. I think I will need many weeks to realise this victory. It’s unbelievable, really.”
It means Bora-Hansgrohe have the race leader going into stage two tomorrow while they also have the climber’s jersey through Cesare Benedetti who was up the road all day in a five-man break.
Postlberger also claimed the sprinter's jersey as well as the best young rider jersey.
He took enough points to end the day on the podium.
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