It wasn't to be. Top favourite Jonathan Milan 's dream of winning the Giro d'Italia 's first full-on stage 1 sprint in 13 years evaporated some 300 metres from the finish line when the Lidl-Trek racer suddenly found himself running on empty.

Milan had a lot at stake on Friday afternoon's slightly uphill sprint in the Black Sea coastal town of Burgas, with a chance not just to take his fifth Giro stage but also his first ever maglia rosa – and the first of the 2026 race, too, in a year when the jersey is sponsored by his home region of Friuli-Venezia Guilia.

Lidl-Trek did plenty of the hard work during the relatively straightforward stage keeping a two-rider break in check and when Milan claimed third place – first from the bunch – in the intermediate sprint at Sozopol, with 57 kilometres to go ahead of Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Premier Tech), it boded more than well for his chances in the finale.

Instead, as Milan explained to reporters while pedalling towards the team bus, after losing contact with his…