Date: Saturday, May 10, 2025
Distance: 13.7km, Individual Time Trial
Start location: Tirana (Albania)
Finish location: Tirana (Albania)
Start time: 13:55 CEST
Finish time: 17:14 CEST (approx.)
As Albania's capital and biggest city, Tirana is where it’s happening. It was designated European Youth Capital for 2022, and is celebrated for having a thriving nightlife, aplomb with cafes, bars and nightclubs. In particular, the area of Blloku has become a trendy hub. Once the exclusive residence of the ruling communist politburo during the dictatorship of Enver Hoxha, Blloku used to be cordoned off from the general public, but since the end of the regime in 1992 has been transformed, full of upmarket spots and fashionable boutiques to enjoy; at least, for those who can afford it.
Pop music is a big deal in Tirana, as evidenced by how many stars have been handed the keys to the city by the mayor. The fact that some of the biggest pop stars of the last decade or so are of Albanian heritage is also clearly a source of great pride, notably Rita Ora and Dua Lipa, the latter of whom was granted honorary Albanian citizenship in 2022.
Theirs is the kind of electronic dance music you hear being pumped out of the PA system at the start of a time trial like this one on stage two of the Giro d'Italia, keeping the fans entertained as they wait patiently on the roadside for each rider to set off. At only 13.7km, it’s a short time trial (less than half the length of the race’s other stage against the clock at the start of the second week), and mostly takes place on urban roads. Despite this, it’s not overly technical, with much of the route sticking to the lengthy straight roads along the banks of the Lanë river. It’s also mostly flat, with just the one short climb of 1.2km averaging 5.7% tackled halfway through when they travel south, towards the city’s popular Parku i Madh (Grand Park) green space.
As a short, flat time trial featuring very early in the race, this is the first of its kind at a Giro since the 2022 stage in another Eastern European capital, Budapest. That day, we should put into perspective how early this is in the race to start drawing conclusions as to who’s looking good for the pink jersey. Simon Yates triumphed with what at the time felt like a real statement win, overcoming Mathieu van der Poel and Tom Dumoulin on the kind of stage he might normally expect to lose time. However, two days later, he hurt his knee badly in a crash and subsequently tumbled out of GC contention. By contrast, the man who ended up winning the Giro, Jai Hindley, lost 33 seconds and finished an anonymous 32nd, barely even mentioned in the post-race write-ups.
Contenders
With only one short climb on the parcours, the first time trial stage of the Giro d’Italia is undoubtedly suited to specialists in the race against the clock. The big favourites for this stage likely won’t even need to get out of the big ring throughout the 14-kilometre route – it’s going to be about putting pure power down on the roads of Tirana. Neither rider who won a time trial in last year’s Giro – Filippo Ganna and Tadej Pogačar – are on the startlist for 2025, but there’s still a number of strong time trialists in this year’s race which should make for an exciting battle.
One of the stand-out favourites for stage two is the Ineos Grenadiers’ Josh Tarling. The British rider is a specialist at this sort of terrain and is a former European time trial champion, already with a time trial victory under his belt this season from the UAE Tour in February where he beat the likes of Pogačar in a stacked field of WorldTour talent. Tarling’s biggest challenger is likely to be Visma-Lease a Bike’s Wout van Aert. The Belgian rider is a similarly powerful rider on the flat, fast roads and regularly does well in the time trial discipline – he finished second in the time trial stage at the Volta ao Algarve earlier this season.
Although they are without their star rider Pogačar, UAE Team Emirates-XRG still have a good chance at a win on stage two with multiple options, including their American talent, Brandon McNulty. The 27-year-old won the opening time trial of the 2024 Vuelta a España which had a similarly flat and fast route, so he will be hoping to repeat that success at the Giro. Juan Ayuso is another choice for UAE when it comes to a win today – he finished close behind Ganna at this year’s Tirreno-Adriatico, proving his ability to time trial as well as climb. Jay Vine will also be doing his best for the Emirati team, grabbing the opportunity to race for himself in this year’s Giro time trial.
Primož Roglič of Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe is another general classification man who has the chance to win on stage two if he is on a good day – while flat courses like this aren’t Roglič’s speciality, he has won time trials before and will take any opportunity he can get to gain time early on in this Giro.
Outside of the GC men, riders who have experience with short, hard, punchy time trial efforts will be looking forward to today’s stage. Ethan Hayter is one to watch for Soudal-Quick Step – he hasn’t had a result yet this season but, on paper, is perfectly suited to this sort of stage, as is his teammate Mattia Cattaneo. The same could be said for Edoardo Affini of Visma-Lease a Bike who similarly has a background in the pursuit on the velodrome. Derek Gee of Israel-Premier Tech could also be in with a shot today if he has good legs – the young Canadian rider comes into his own during Grand Tours. Antonio Tiberi for Bahrain-Victorious and Luke Plapp for Team Jayco Alula are two riders who could also be in contention for victory in stage two, though it is going to take some breakthrough rides for the two young riders if they are to get the better of riders like Tarling and Van Aert.
Prediction
We’re backing Josh Tarling to take the victory on stage two of the Giro d’Italia. This route is perfect for his strengths and he will have focused on performing well on this day to take his first Grand Tour stage win.
