Ineos Grenadiers off to promising start in Giro d'Italia, British team unexpectedly strong Honatan Narvaez takes opening stage win and overall lead, while simultaneously suffering a rare morale-boosting loss to Tadey Pogachar (UAE Team Emirates) .

But if Narvaez's victory is something of a bonus prize, and his fitness to defend his GC lead is truly unknown, Geraint Thomas's 10th place finish on this stage, with room in the main group of rivals behind Pogachar and his team, is a good sign that the overall contender The fact that the Ineos riders, who are also considered overall contenders, are also staying strong on the course is an indication that they are in good shape.

On a day when several GC riders were at least partially unscathed, notably Romain Bardet (dsm-Filmenig Post NL), this was easier said than done, and not all was blessed on the first stage for the Ineos Grenadiers. Timen Arensmann, who finished sixth in 2023 and was considered by some to be out of the GC, was upset to lose more than two minutes, and Tobias Foss, who also finished in the top 10 in the Giro in 2021, lost more than eight minutes.

Thomas, however, was able to briefly go on the attack before the final unclassified climb of the Bibio de San Vito, which Narvaez and Pogachar had cleared. The Welshman finished 10 seconds behind the stage leader. He told reporters after the warm-down that while he was delighted with Narvaez, he was also happy with the way his stage unfolded. [Personally I felt good, but on the last climb I lost a little bit of position. It's a great ride for him and incredible for the team," Thomas said. [Johnny's start was great. We always knew he was fast and to be able to go up there and sprint with Pogues is great for the team.

Thomas said the idea of Narvaez stepping up in the Giro had been talked about for some time within the team.

"But, well, I think we all know him, but fair play to him anyway. It was going to be a day for him and for us to try to be in a good position. So it was great."

Thomas agreed with Max Schachmann (Bora-Hansgrohe), who finished second on this stage, and said that the climb of the Category 2 Maddalena, the toughest of the day, was not as intense as expected, but still caused GC riders like Bardet to fall

"Yeah.

"Yeah, that was weird, but it was the first day and it was a bit hot. Like I said at the start, it's easy to get carried away on the first stage. Once you get into stage 15 and start going up the big climbs, this stuff becomes trivial."

Thomas noted that the Giro has always been an unpredictable beast, with sudden GC changes happening all the time and riders suddenly disappearing from the breakaway or showing up unexpectedly at unexpected times. Besides, a difficult first stage, such as the Giro's opening stage through the steep hills around Turin, is relatively rare and is bound to bring unexpected results.

"The group was nervous and there were some sketchy moments.

Regarding the overall picture of the Giro, Thomas was asked by one reporter about Pogachar's pre-race comment about the media's tendency to view the 2024 race as a one-man race as disrespectful, and whether he personally felt disrespected by such an attitude regarding a possible matchup with Pogachar Asked if he felt personally disrespected by such an attitude about a possible matchup with Pogachar.

"I'm used to it. But I don't feel insulted. If it was someone else, it might be a little different. But the man is phenomenal, and we all know how big a talent he is and how strong a favorite he is."

That raises the question of how a rider of Thomas' caliber would fare in a race against opponents of a different caliber. However, the Welsh rider responded to the challenge with a characteristically phlegmatic twang, as well as pointing out details of the first stage that suggested an optimistic attitude toward racing in the Pogachar era.

"We just have to race our own race. Pogachar's team was certainly strong, but not as dominant as we've seen in other races. The race is long and a lot can happen.

Predicting how Sunday's summit finish would play out following Saturday's frenetic finale of the stage, Thomas was straightforward: "Pogue will drop another bomb. [I know Johnny is in great shape. I know Johnny is in great shape. I can't remember off the top of my head what the climb is like or how long it is, but I think the hardest part will be at the end. It would be great if that happens."