The second stage, finishing on the climb to Oropa, had a quiet opening phase. Once again, an early breakaway was controlled by the teams with general classification ambitions. During the flat opening phase, Olav Kooij and Attila Valter both were involved in a crash. Both were able to continue their way quickly. The stage had its climax on the final climb. After a fast pace set by UAE Team Emirates, Pogacar - who crashed at the foot of the climb - placed the decisive acceleration with four kilometres to go. The Slovenian rode solo to victory.

Behind, Uijtdebroeks again proved to be strong. The young Team Visma | Lease a Bike rider rode at his own pace towards chasers Geraint Thomas and Ben O'Connor. The trio was caught by the third group shortly afterwards. Uijtdebroeks eventually reached the finish line in the seven-rider chasing group. In the general classification, he climbed to fourth place. After the stage, he received the white jersey as leader in the young rider classification.

“I felt pretty good in the final”, Uijtdebroeks responded afterwards. “I knew I wouldn't be the fastest in the sprint, but on the steep parts I was able to keep a good pace. The enthusiastic Italian fans along the road made me forget the pain in my legs for a while.”

“I didn't race with the thought of capturing the white jersey”, he continued. “I just wanted to reach the top as quickly as possible. When I was told after the finish that I had the jersey, I didn't believe it at first. I am very happy to start tomorrow’s stage in the jersey. It is my first ever jersey in a grand tour. It will be a goal to defend it.”

Sports director Maarten Wynants saw a convincing Uijtdebroeks. “Yesterday, positioning was a bit difficult, but today it went much better. Cian was always where he needed to be. We had calculated that he might lose time in the opening weekend. In hindsight, we can say he did an excellent job. We are already in a better position than we thought beforehand, but the Giro is still long. The riders are close to each other, if we exclude Pogacar. Every stage will be important.”