Early Giro d'Italia favourite Remco Evenepoel began his bid for glory in perfect fashion with a convincing victory in Saturday's time trial.
The Belgian crossed the line with 21 minutes and 18 seconds on the clock to don the maglia rosa jersey for Soudal-Quick Step, 22 seconds quicker than closest challenger Filippo Ganna of Ineos Grenadiers.
Portugal's Joao Almeida of UAE Team Emirates was a further seven seconds behind Evenepoel, who credited his "cadence" for his early triumph in Italy.
"Super happy. We wanted to go as fast as possible and I think we went fast enough today," the 23-year-old told Eurosport after the time trial.
"I felt from the start that I had a good rhythm, always the same gear and the same cadence. I'm just super happy with what I can do."
Tao Geoghegan Hart led the way for Great Britain, with a time of 22:08 good enough for fourth place, while fellow Ineos Grenadiers rider Geraint Thomas was down in ninth with 22:23.
Sunday's flat second stage sees riders make the 204km journey from Teramo to San Salvo.
Ben Knapton
