Dutch cyclist Mathieu van der Poel won the opening stage of the Giro d’Italia on Friday and claimed the race’s first maglia rosa in his debut in the Italian grand Tour.

Van der Poel, who rides for Alpecin-Fenix, edged Eritrean cyclist Biniam Girmay at the end of a chaotic bunch sprint on the uphill finish to the citadel in Visegrad in the first of three stages in Hungary.

Pello Bilbao was third at the end of the undulating 195-kilometer route from Budapest.

The Dutch superstar collapsed on the ground and couldn't even celebrate one of the most spectacular and thrilling open stages in recent Giro history because he was wrapped so tight on the rivet.

"I didn't have time to celebrate on the finish line because I had to dig so deep," Van der Poel said. "There was no energy left to put the hands in the air."

Van der Poel said it was mission accomplished in this Giro and will celebrate the pink jersey before going into Saturday’s race.

"Wearing a leader’s jersey in a grand tour is something special, not a lot of riders can say they have achieved this. This one is pretty high in the rankings," he said. "This was my main goal and for the rest of the Giro I’ll try to go win another stage."

Saturday’s second stage is an individual time trial through Budapest, that also sees an uphill finish.