There was drama aplenty on the 2026 Giro d'Italia's first stage back in Italy. But if Egan Bernal's moment of crisis on the cat.2 Cozzo Tunno climb provided the biggest individual surprise setback of the day, on the plus side, Movistar's ability to outperform their rivals was almost equally unexpected, but no less impressive for all that.
Right from the bottom of the second-category, 15-kilometre Cozzo Tunno, Movistar were present in significant numbers on the front of the bunch. And if all the sprinters bar their own fastman Orluis Aular promptly opted to ease back on the climb, the Spanish WorldTour squad continued to tighten the screws all the same. First they caused two-day race leader Guillermo Silva (XDS-Astana) to crack, and then, much more unexpectedly, a GC heavyweight of the calibre of Netcompany Ineos' Bernal.
