Guillermo Thomas Silva claimed a historic stage two victory at the Giro d’Italia on Saturday, becoming the first Uruguayan rider ever to win a Grand Tour stage. The 24-year-old also took the pink jersey as race leader after the dramatic 221km ride from Burgas to Veliko Tarnovo in Bulgaria.
It was a chaotic and eventful stage from start to finish. The rain-soaked roads made conditions treacherous throughout, and a huge crash involving around 20 riders at the 198km mark forced race organisers to temporarily neutralise the stage. Among those forced to abandon were Australian Jay Vine and Norwegian Adne Holter. Marc Soler was reported to be the first rider to hit the ground, with several others getting caught up in the incident, some going over or into a guard rail.
Earlier in the stage, Mirco Maestri and Diego Pablo Sevilla had broken away from the peloton and built up a lead of around five minutes, staying clear over two significant climbs. However, once the weather improved, the peloton reeled them back in with around 27km to go.
After the race resumed, Jonas Vingegaard attacked on the Lyaskovets Monastery Pass climb and opened up a gap, with Giulio Pellizzari and Lenny Van Eetvelt giving chase. But the peloton caught the leading group in the final 500 metres, setting up a frantic sprint finish that Silva won in a photo finish. Florian Stork finished second and Giulio Ciccone third.
The race continues on Sunday with a flat 175km stage from Plovdiv to Sofia.
