Mathieu van der Poel grabs thrilling Stage 1 victory at Giro d'Italia as Caleb Ewan crashes in final dash

Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) grabbed a thrilling victory on Stage 1 of the Giro d'Italia as Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal) crashed out in a mad dash to the line. On a pulsating uphill drive to the finish line, it was Van der Poel who took the spoils as he powered to a hugely impressive win amid utter chaos in the final metres. Biniam Girmay (Intermarche-Wanty) took second, just inches off a stunning win.

Ad/> Ewan suffered a crash in the wild sprint finish as Van der Poel picked his moment perfectly and grabbed the pink jersey on his debut at the iconic Grand Tour. /> Giro d'Italia'Give it a go!' — Cavendish switches bikes to suggest big sprint challenge at Giro2 HOURS AGO Hungary has been welcoming the riders for the Grande Partenza at this, the opening Grand Tour of 2022, and the fans ensured a superb atmosphere for much of the day's racing. After what was a largely flat 195km route on Stage 1 from the capital to Visegrad, Naesen made a strong breakaway with just over 3km to go.

There was an intriguing moment with 103km remaining as Britain's Mark Cavendish switched bikes, perhaps suggesting he was keen on a big sprint finish, but he later eased off to save his energy. 'It's not possible to finish' — Ewan blunt on controversial 'get out' Giro strategy 'What a sight!' — Wild moment riders with swords on horses steal attention at Giro Stage 2 on Saturday will see the riders negotiate a very short and sharp 9.2km individual time trial around Budapest. There are three stages in central Europe before the race heads to Sicily as Italy takes over the famous event next week.