For the 105th edition of the Italian stage race, the cycling caravan descended on Budapest, where the riders left for a 195 kilometre-race. Immediately after the start, two Italian teammates took the lead. The duo quickly saw their lead increase to more than ten minutes, but due to the efforts of several sprint teams, the gap was closed quickly.

Several riders tried to surprise the peloton with an ultimate attack in the stage's final hilly kilometers. However, no one succeeded and a power sprint would decide today's winner. That proved right for Mathieu van der Poel, who will start in the pink leader's jersey tomorrow.

Tom Dumoulin, Tobias Foss, and Sam Oomen finished in a large group at four seconds. "This was a good and quiet first day", sports director Marc Reef said. "Tom and Sam were well positioned at the foot of the climb, while Tobias witnessed a crash just before him. With Edo's help he was able to come back. In the end, all the classification men finished around the same place together."

Tomorrow an individual time trial of slightly more than nine kilometres is on the programme. "It will be a special day. With Tom, we have someone who can compete for the stage win and Tobias has also proven that he can ride a good time trial. For Sam it's about riding the best time trial possible and limiting the damage as much as possible."

Dumoulin kept a good feeling about the first day. "It was a boring, slow stage with a fierce final. On the final climb I was in around 30th place and that was fine for me."