Preview: Giro d'Italia finish at Visegrad citadel offers double glory

Valter Giro 2021
Attila Valter wore the maglia rosa for three stages at the 2021 Giro d'Italia (Image credit: Getty Images/Composite)

The opening stage of the 2022 Giro d'Italia ends on the climb to Visegrad citadel on Friday, with riders traversing a gradual but twisting road. It's a tempting stage for the sprinters and finesseurs but also offers a host of other riders a rare chance of winning the open stage and taking the first race leader's maglia rosa.

The 195km Giro d'Italia stage 1 is flat, so it will all be about the rising finish. Do the likes of Mark Cavendish (QuickStep-AlphaVinyl) and Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal) have a chance? Or will Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) or Biniam Girmay (Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert) use their Classics positioning skills, aggression and fast finish to steal the glory?

Stephen Farrand
Head of News

Stephen is one of the most experienced member of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. He has been Head of News at Cyclingnews since 2022, before which he held the position of European editor since 2012 and previously worked for Reuters, Shift Active Media, and CyclingWeekly, among other publications.

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