Giro d'Italia 2017: Lukas Postlberger upstages sprinters to cause upset in Giro opener
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Updated 05/05/2017 at 21:46 GMT
Lukas Postlberger sprung a huge surprise to win the opening stage of the 100th Giro d'Italia in Sardinia.
Austria's Lukas Postlberger celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the first stage of the 100th Giro d'Italia
Image credit: Getty Images
The Austrian, making his Grand Tour debut, attacked inside the final kilometre and a disorganised peloton failed to react until the Bora-Hansgrohe rider was unassailably clear.
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'What an attack!' - Postlberger wins opening Giro stage
Postlberger upstaged sprint favourites Caleb Ewan and Andre Greipel, who had to settle for second and third respectively in a chaotic finish.
Race favourites including Nairo Quintana, Vincenzo Nibali and Geraint Thomas finished in the main group, but others were not so lucky as a crash just outside 3km to go brought the back of the peloton to a standstill.
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How the stage was won
The Giro began on a sombre note with a minute's silence for Michele Scarponi, whose Astana team led the race off.
The stage was ridden from Alghero to Olbia at a glacial pace averaging less than 40km/h on a largely flat ride, with only a longstanding breakaway to enliven proceedings.
Cesare Benedetti won three intermediate climbs to take the Maglia Azzurra on a brilliant day for Bora-Hansgrohe who took a clean sweep of the jerseys.
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The Eritrean Daniel Teklehaimanot also put in a fine shift in a six-man break, which was eventually reeled in 5km from home when a mass sprint looked likely.
However Postlberger somehow rode away from the bunch as the big guns readied themselves for a sprint. By the time the leading teams reacted, Postlberger was gone.
Giro hero
Lukas Postlberger - Who else? The lead-out man, in his second year as a pro, may never surpass this moment. He will wear the Maglia Rosa with pride on Saturday.
What they said
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Stage in a tweet
The finish enlivened what had been a pretty pedestrian affair - even Sean Kelly's coffee run took longer than expected.
Coming Up
The race heads south through the hilly interior of Sardinia and back to the coast for the finish at Tortoli. The stage features category three and category two climbs, with the latter taking the peloton over 1000m for the first time.
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