Six escapees were given allowed to gain an advantage by the peloton. Ten kilometres before the finish the leaders were caught by the large group. In the streets of the start and finish town of Lido di Camaiore, Van Aert started his sprint early. The competition was unable to come alongside. Through his victory in the opening stage of the Italian race the Team Jumbo-Visma leader starts Thursday in the leader’s jersey. For Van Aert it is the first victory on the road in 2021 and the fourth for the team.

Van Aert reacted happily surprised. “Of course we were going for the win. I just didn’t expect to win directly today in this strong field. I was positioned perfectly by the team. I had decided not to wait too long because it was a high speed sprint. Fortunately, I was able to hold it until the finish line. I am very happy that my sprinters legs are back. A nice bonus are the bonification seconds. That gives me a few extra seconds ahead of a lot of guys. I want to achieve the highest possible result in the general classification.”

Many thanks therefore went to his teammates. “Both in Strade Bianche and today we rode as a strong team. The guys dropped me off well in the sprint. It makes me proud that I was able to finish the team’s work. We now maneuver ourselves into a great starting position for the rest of the week. We are riding with high morale and have a lot of confidence for what is to follow in the coming days.”