'I'm so happy to be honest' – Paul Magnier storms to victory and pink jersey on Giro d'Italia stage 1 after mass crash

Paul Magnier stormed to victory on stage one of the Giro d'Italia in Nessebar, Bulgaria, on Friday, winning from a reduced group after a mass crash in the final kilometre. As a result, the Frenchman will take the first pink jersey.

The Soudal Quick-Step rider timed his sprint perfectly to round Tobias Lund Andresen (Decathlon CMA CGM) in the closing metres. Ethan Vernon (NSN Cycling) finished third in a small group of around just 10 riders. It is Magnier's first Grand Tour stage win, and first WorldTour victory of the year. Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek), the sprint favourite, finished fourth.

The run-in was dominated by a serious crash, which took out contenders including Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Premier Tech) and Dylan Groenewegen (Unibet Rose Rockets). However, all riders held up by the incident will finish on the same time, due to it happening in the final kilometres. The crash blocked the road, meaning anyone not in the front dozen riders were unable to compete in the sprint.

Latest Videos From

"I'm so proud of the team and also my performance," Magnier said post-stage. "I was already happy to be at the start of the Giro with nice shape and a special jersey from Castelli, and now I can change it for the pink jersey. I'm so happy to be honest.

"It was really hectic in the final because it was a pretty easy day so everybody was really fresh. Then I was in a really good position, we knew the narrow road in the final would be tricky, so we tried to get in a good position. Then in the final, Jasper [Stuyven] and Dries [Van Gestel] did an amazing job and I could finish it off, so I'm super proud."

"There are a lot of sprinters here at the start, and it was the first time that I could sprint against these big sprinters, and I'm super happy I can beat them with a team performance," he continued.

"I have some nice memories already with the pink jersey at the Giro Next Gen [the under-23 race] and now I think I will enjoy it too to enjoy it at the Giro d'Italia."

The day to the final kilometres had been relatively quiet, with a two-man breakaway of Diego Pablo Sevilla (Polti VisitMalta) and Manuele Tarozzi (Bardiani CSF 7 Saber), up the road for most of it. They escaped with 137km to go, and were only caught with 23km to the finish. In between, Sevilla won both mountains classification bonus point, on the fourth-category Cape Agalina, while Tarozzi won the intermediate sprint and the Red Bull KM too.

Soudal Quick-Step, Lidl-Trek and NSN Cycling were all very visible inside the final 5km, but the finish was changed by the crash with 600m to go. Lidl-Trek, Soudal Quick-Step and Decathlon CMA CGM were the only teams left with more than one rider in the final group. Despite a late push by Max Walscheid (Lidl-Trek), it came down to Lund Andresen against Magnier, with the latter triumphing.

"Honestly, if it had been anyone other than Paul Magnier in my wheel, I think I would have won," Lund Andresen, who finished second, said. "That’s why I’m both proud and disappointed at the same time. Today was a huge opportunity to make history and wear the pink jersey, so finishing second hurts a little more. There will be other opportunities, we will try everything to go for a win."

Results

Giro d’Italia 2026, stage one: Nessebar > Burgas (147km)

1. Paul Magnier (Fra) Soudal Quick-Step, in 3:21:08
2. Tobias Lund Andresen (Den) Decathlon CMA CGM
3. Ethan Vernon (GBr) NSN Cycling
4. Jonathan Milan (Ita) Lidl-Trek
5. Madis Mikhels (Est) EF Education-EasyPost
6. Giovanni Lonardi (Ita) Polti VisitMalta
7. Pascal Ackermann (Ger) Jayco AlUla
8. Tord Gudmestad (Nor) Decathlon CMA CGM
9. Max Walscheid (Ger) Lidl-Trek
10. Dries Van Gestel (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step, all at same time

General classification after stage one

1. Paul Magnier (Fra) Soudal Quick-Step, in 3:20:58
2. Tobias Lund Andresen (Den) Decathlon CMA CGM, +4s
3. Manuel Tarozzi (Ita) Polti VisitMalta, at same time
4. Ethan Vernon (GBr) NSN Cycling, +6s
5. Diego Pablo Sevilla (Esp) Polti VisitMalta, at same time
6. António Morgado (Por) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, +8s
7. Jonathan Milan (Ita) Lidl-Trek, +10s
8. Madis Mikhels (Est) EF Education-EasyPost
9. Giovanni Lonardi (Ita) Polti VisitMalta
10. Pascal Ackermann (Ger) Jayco AlUla, all at same time