Sixty years after Juan José Timón became the first Uruguayan to compete in Italian races such as Tirreno-Adriatico and Milano-Torino, history was made on stage 2 of the Giro d’Italia. Not only did compatriot Thomas Silva become the first rider from the South American nation to compete at the race, but he did it in style by taking the stage victory and claiming the maglia rosa in the process. All this at his debut at the Italian Grand Tour.
At the start in Burgas, his experienced XDS Astana teammate Cristian Scaroni, winner of a stage last year, said that “today will be a really good stage for us…. The last short climb will be really important to take the position in the front, then at the top we’ll see how it will be.”
After three years with Spanish ProTeam Caja Rural, where he claimed two top-10 finishes at the 2025 Vuelta a España in his Grand Tour debut, Silva made the step up to the WorldTour this year. He then sharpened his form with an overall victory and two stage wins at the Tour of Hainan in April before taking the biggest result of his career today.
Speaking seconds after the finish, the 24-year-old said, “I’m delighted. 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. I knew I came with a good shape but I also knew that it’s very hard to win a stage of a Grand Tour. ”
“It was a hard final, but I’ve ridden at the front thanks to Christian Scaroni who was very active. I just had to keep calm and launch the sprint at the right time to conquer a huge win for myself. I have to say a big thanks to my team. For myself, this is the maximum I could hope for.”
Silva will wear the pink leader’s jersey on the 175km stage 3, from Plovdiv to Sofia. for the final day of racing in Bulgaria. A stage that looks to conclude in a bunch sprint, similar to the opening stage won by Paul Magnier, who, along with the other fastmen, tumbled down the standings.
“We’ll see for how long I can retain the Maglia Rosa. Firstly, I want to enjoy the moment and fly to Italy with the jersey.”
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