Giro d’Italia stage two preview: Chance for GC contenders to make their mark in first of two time trials

Stage two of the 2025 Giro d’Italia gives the GC contenders have an early opportunity to throw down the gauntlet to their rivals, with a short time trial in Tirana, Albania.

Mads Pedersen took the leader’s pink jersey with victory in the sprint at the end of stage one, but could find himself handing it over to one of the major GC favourites on a second day in the Albanian capital.

It’s a largely flat, straightforward stage, with a category four bump in the road halfway through, which might be enough to put off the pure time-trial specialists like Ineos Grenadier’s Joshua Tarling - although expect the 21-year-old to put in a strong performance regardless - and favour the GC riders who are strong in a TT.

It’s not particularly technical either, with the exception of some sharp corners and U-turns: held on wide, sweeping roads through urban sprawl, with a pan-flat final 3km and a dead straight 500m sprint to the line. What it should be is fast.

At only 13.7km there shouldn’t be significant gaps between the big favourites, but with fewer serious mountain showdowns in this race - particularly, fewer summit finishes - than normal every second will count. Primoz Roglic and Juan Ayuso are the best against the clock of the main favourites and this could be a drag race between the pair to take the honours early on in the year’s first Grand Tour.

Of the other maglia rosa contenders Italian youngster Antonio Tiberi should be well placed to profit from the time gaps to some of the weaker time-triallists, while for the likes of Richard Carapaz, Einer Rubio, veterans Romain Bardet and Mikel Landa, and climber Giulio Ciccone it will be a case of damage limitation.

Within the UAE Team Emirates-XRG hierarchy we may see some movement too: Ayuso and Adam Yates are in theory co-leaders and both have TT pedigree, but the Brit may find himself slipping down the pecking order if his 22-year-old teammate is on song.

Of the specialists, Tarling, European time-trial champion Edoardo Affini, and the Czech pair of Josef Cerny and Mathias Vacek could be outsiders for a stage win.

Route map and profile

Start and finish time

Stage two begins at around 12:30pm BST and is set to conclude at around 4:15 pm.

Prediction

Of the time-trial specialists Josh Tarling is the safest bet, but the presence of that climb may throw a spanner in the works for him. This feels like the first of several duels between race favourites Primoz Roglic and Juan Ayuso; the young Spaniard may feel he has a point to prove, while veteran Roglic has the racecraft and experience to keep his powder dry until later in the Giro, so let’s go with Juan Ayuso.