Guillermo Thomas Silva crossed the line in Veliko Tarnovo with the smallest of margins, and cycling gained a first. Silva became the first Uruguayan rider to win a Grand Tour stage on stage 2 of the Giro d'Italia, speeding to the line at the head of a select lead group. The photo finish confirmed it. With the stage came the maglia rosa.
How the stage turned
The day was long and wet. The second stage of the Giro covered 221km from Burgas to Veliko Tarnovo, beginning with a largely flat run before the third-category hills of Byala Pass and Vratnik Pass and a lumpy second half. Two Polti-VisitMalta riders, Mirco Maestri and Diego Pablo Sevilla, spent almost the entire day clear, the Spaniard collecting mountain points before the peloton reeled them in.
Then the finale fractured. A major crash in the peloton at 22km to go caught a host of notable names, and the race was briefly neutralised. On the climb to the Lyaskovets Monastery, Jonas Vingegaard launched the first real attack of this Giro, pulling clear alongside Giulio Pellizzari and Lennert Van Eetvelt, while behind them a chasing group of around 25 riders began to form. The trio had gone clear on the final climb, which peaked 11km from the finish, and after building a 20-second lead, it looked certain they would contest the win among themselves.
The catch came late. The chasers, led by Jan Christen, surprisingly made their way back across in the uphill closing kilometres, with XDS-Astana best placed in the final run to the line. Cristian Scaroni hit the front for the final sprint and led out Silva, who just about took the win in a photo finish and took the maglia rosa in the process. He finished ahead of Florian Stork and Giulio Ciccone.
A career, and a country, moving forward
The scale of it sat oddly against the moment in Silva's season. "This is only the second stage of my first Giro d'Italia, and I'm the winner. It was a bit unexpected. I'm speechless," Silva said after the stage. The 24-year-old from Maldonado also took the Maglia Bianca as best young rider.
For a rider from a nation without a Grand Tour pedigree, this was uncharted ground. The XDS Astana rider had already shown promising form in recent races, and came out on top from a group of around thirty riders, making perfect use of teammate Christian Scaroni's work. A puncher's instinct, timed to the metre, turned a chaotic day into a landmark.
"I was feeling good, but I never imagined I could achieve something like this. I have to thank Christian Scaroni, who helped me both in the chase to the leaders and in setting up the sprint. I don't think I'll ever forget this day."
Uruguay had never worn pink. On a rain-soaked road in Bulgaria, Guillermo Thomas Silva put it on.
