The race explodes in the finale
From Nessebar to Burgas, the Black Sea turned pink for a few unforgettable hours. The flat route made life relatively straightforward for the peloton, and the day’s breakaway formed immediately after kilometre zero, with Manuele Tarozzi (Bardiani CSF 7 Saber) and Diego Pablo Sevilla (Polti VisitMalta) going clear.
Sevilla swept up both ascents of Cape Agalina to secure the mountain points, while Tarozzi claimed the intermediate sprint and the Red Bull KM.
Driven by the work of Unibet Rose Rockets, Soudal-QuickStep and Lidl-Trek, the peloton finally reeled in the breakaway with 22 kilometres remaining.
From 5 kilometres to go, the speed skyrocketed. The fight for position became increasingly frantic and, after a series of swerves and shoulder battles, disaster struck inside the final kilometre. Erlend Blikra (Uno-X Mobility) crashed heavily, bringing down Dylan Groenewegen (Unibet Rose Rockets), Kaden Groves (Alpecin-PremierTech) and Matteo Moschetti (Pinarello Q36.5), among others.
Up front, around twenty riders survived the carnage. Decathlon CMA CGM produced an excellent lead-out for Tobias Lund Andresen, but the Danish rider was ultimately overhauled by the flying Magnier. Milan, isolated and lacking his usual kick after the chaotic run-in, had to settle for fourth.
For Magnier, the Maglia Rosa already feels strangely familiar: he wore it at the Giro Next Gen in Saint-Vincent back in 2024.
But keeping it tomorrow on the uphill finish in Veliko Tarnovo will be an entirely different challenge.