Steve Bauer went closest before; frustratingly close, in fact. In 1987 the Canadian looked poised to be the first from his country to grab the Maglia Rosa, but was pipped by defending champion Roberto Visentini (Carrera) in the prologue time trial in San Remo.
Bauer was one of the best young riders in the sport and would go on to finish tenth overall in that Giro, plus fourth in the Tour de France the following year. The Toshiba Look rider pushed hard on that day in San Remo, but Visentini clocked a time 0.3 seconds faster over the four kilometre coastroad prologue route. The jersey was his.
Bauer set out the following day determined to try to take the Maglia Rosa, but on the climb to San Romolo, it passed from Visentini’s shoulders to those of Erik Breukink (Panasonic Isostar). It then moved on to the Poggio time trial winner Stephen Roche (Carrera), who would eventually win the race.
For Bauer, the chance had been lost. He’d lead the Tour de France, but never again got as close to the Giro’s pink jersey. It would take another 25 years for the first Canadian rider to lead the race.
That rider is Ryder Hesjedal, who finished fifth on yesterday’s first mountain stage of the Giro d’Italia. He’d previously raced to a very solid seventeenth in the opening time trial, then went to within eleven seconds of the jersey when his Garmin Barracuda squad won the team time trial on Wednesday.
His upward progress continued since then, and culminated in yesterday’s career highlight.
It’s a huge moment for the country and Bauer, who retired in 1996 and now runs the Spidertech C10 team, was warm in his praise for his compatriot.
“It’s awesome, certainly a landmark accomplishment,” he said. ‘It shows the progress of our nation. Ryder is without a doubt a leader in the progress, on a large scale.
“It gives the inspiration of the guys on Team SpiderTech and everyone in Canada to do the same. It’s long overdue, and great to see.”
Hesjedal is soaking up the spectators’ attention and relishing wearing the first Grand Tour leader’s jersey of his career as the peloton races towards Lago Laceno. He’s got a fifteen second advantage in the general classification over yesterday’s stage winner, Paolo Tiralongo; Flèche Wallone winner Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) is two seconds further back.
Prior to the race Hesjedal told VeloNation that he believed he was in the form to chase a high overall finish in the race; he felt it was conceivable that he could outdo his 2010 Tour de France performance, when he was sixth overall.
The Canadian Cycling Association will relish what has happened, both in terms of the historical significance and also because it should increase the coverage the sport gets back home.
High Performance Director Jacques Landry is clear on what the result means. “Wearing the Pink jersey is what every rider thrives for at the Giro d’Italia,” he said yesterday. “Having a Canadian wearing the pink jersey is an indicator that Canada is getting stronger as a cycling nation, and every cyclist and cycling fan in Canada should be proud of the accomplishment.”
Hesjedal won’t be content with what he’s done thus far, though; having enjoyed the podium celebration yesterday and savoured the attention this morning prior to the start, he’ll do his utmost to remain at the top of the standings from this point on.