Before the Giro d'Italia started, Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe sports director Patxi Vila told Cyclingnews that while the stage 2 time trial in Tirana would not be in any way decisive, it was at least challenging enough to show which GC riders were in top shape, and which would be left playing catch-up.
His analysis has proven 100% correct, with his own team leader, Primoz Roglič, delivering the first important blow in the GC battle in Tirana and claiming the overall lead. It's true Roglič and his team were visibly one of the stronger GC squads on stage 1's final hills, staying close to the front as Lidl-Trek powered up the pace to viciously high levels. But perhaps the scale of Roglič's early success in the stage 2 individual time trial, too, was even something of a pleasant surprise for his own Red Bull team.
