Less winner of the first stage of the Giro

French cyclist Paul Menge is the winner of the first stage of the Giro d'Italia.

He was the fastest in the sprint finish at the opening of this year's race, while the first favorite Jonas Vingegor completed the stage in the main group without any problems.

The first three stages of this year's Giro are being ridden in Bulgaria, and the opening section was a 147-kilometer flat route from Nessebar to Burgas on the Black Sea coast.

He finished the stage in less than three hours and 21 minutes.

The final kilometer also saw several riders fall, after one cyclist clipped a temporary guardrail at the end of the stage.

This year, Vingegor is attempting to accomplish the rare feat of winning all three Grand Tours in his career.

The Dane from the Visma team won the Tour d'France in 2022 and 2023, while he triumphed at the Vuelta last season.

One of his biggest rivals, Tadej Pogačar, is skipping this year's Giro to focus on his quest for a fifth Tour de France title in July.

The second stage will be held on Saturday and will feature a 221-kilometer mountain section from Burgas to Veliko Tarnovo.

This year's Giro ends in Rome on May 31st.