It only took Tadej Pogacar until the second day of his Giro d'Italia debut to make a mark on the Italian grand tour.
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The Slovenian star did it despite a puncture and a tumble, 11 kilometres from the end of the tricky second stage, on the approach to the final climb.
Pogacar swiftly made his way back to the peloton and then attacked on his own four kilometres from the end to secure victory on the top-category uphill finish to Santuario di Oropa and the leader's pink jersey.
Pogacar raised his arms and screamed in delight as he crossed the line, finishing 27 sec ahead of Daniel Martinez and Geraint Thomas at the end of the undulating 161km route from San Francesco al Campo, that featured three categorised climbs.
The UAE Emirates cyclist took over the maglia rosa from Jhonatan Narvaez, who had surprisingly edged Pogacar at the end of the opening stage on Saturday.
Pogacar moved 45 seconds ahead of last year's runner-up Thomas, who is likely to be his main challenger, and Martinez.
Rarely has the Giro had such an overwhelming pre-race favorite as Pogacar, with the two-time Tour de France winner targeting a Giro-Tour double.
Monday's third stage sees the sprinters get their first chance of the race along the mainly flat, 166km route from Novara to Fossano. The Giro ends in Rome on May 26.
Australian Associated Press
