Girmay wasted no time going for his first Grand Tour win, launching his sprint 300 metres from the line on the uphill run to Visegrad with none of the field having the legs to challenge him except for van der Poel after Aussie Caleb Ewan (Lotto Soudal) had another unfortunate crash.
The prolific Dutchman proved to have the better legs in the end, outlasting the young Eritrean to win the stage and don the Maglia Rosa as many predicted, but Girmay's efforts showed him what's possible going into the next three weeks.
“I started at almost 300 metres to go. I think it was on the limit and Van der Poel was a bit stronger today,” Girmay told reporters after the stage.
“It was really hard, especially in the last 3 or 4k, but for me I need more high speed and a hard race, so I tried to tell my team to make a bit of movement.
"In the end, I think I started the sprint a bit early, like 300m to go, but generally I think it was a great job.
“I’m really happy, because to be second in your first Grand Tour stage to a big champion like Mathieu van der Poel is something special.”
Ewan was one of the favourites for the stage, but clipped Girmay's wheel in the midst of a frantic finish within sight of the line.
“To be honest, I didn’t see," Girmay said of the incident with Ewan.
"I just felt something touch my wheel.”
“I was just starting my sprint and I felt somebody touch me from behind, but I didn’t see what happened.”
While the 22-year-old didn't become the first black African rider to win a Grand Tour stage on this occasion, coming so close with so much racing left has only given him more motivation to achieve that goal as he donned the white jersey for best young rider.
“We just came here to win the stage, not to wear the pink jersey. Today is one day and there are others,” Girmay stated.
“We will see, but I’m feeling good motivation for the next days. There are several stages suited to me, so I think we will see in next days.”
With a 9.2 kilometre time trial on the agenda in Stage 2, Girmay's battle with van der Poel will likely resume in Stage 3 on Sunday night (AEST), with 201 kilometres of racing culminating in a likely sprint finish on a flat run in to Balatonfured.
The Giro d'Italia continues with Stage 2 tonight, a 9.2-kilometre time trial in Budapest. Watch the full stage LIVE and FREE on SBS On Demand from 9.50pm AEST, with the SBS broadcast starting from 10.40pm AEST. WA viewers can watch via SBS VICELAND from 8.40pm AEST.
Re-live Stage 1 with a full replay below via SBS On Demand.
