Two seconds. This is the time gap that separated Matteo Scalco from victory in the prologue of the Tour of Rhodes, a race where his peer, Australian Cameron Rogers, took the top spot instead. In detail, the rider for the INEOS Grenadiers Racing Academy claimed the inaugural stage of the short Greek stage race in the .2 category, covering the 2.1 kilometers on the program in 2 minutes and 42 seconds, a time that allowed him to secure his first seasonal victory and, consequently, also the first yellow jersey as the general classification leader.

Behind him, alongside the Italian from XDS Astana Development Team (at his first podium of 2026), the following riders had to settle for supporting positions in the standings: the Dane from AIRTOX-Carl Ras Sylvester Vittinghus Stokbro (3rd at 3"), Bradley Wiggins' son Ben (4th at 4"), Adam Rafferty (brother of Darren who rides for EF Education Easypost) and Australian Under 23 time trial champion Wil Holmes (all three representing Hagens Berman Jayco).

With a very tight classification, tomorrow the peloton will depart from Maritsa for the first road stage which, with its rolling 18-kilometer circuit to be repeated nine times in total, will force the contenders for overall victory to race with their eyes wide open, ready to seize any opportunities that materialize along the way.

FINISHING ORDER

1st Cameron Rogers (AUS/INEOS Grenadiers Racing Academy) 2'42"

2nd Matteo Scalco (ITA/XDS Astana Development Team) at 2"

3rd Sylvester Vittinghus Stokbro (DAN/AIRTOX - Carl Ras) at 3"

4th Ben Wiggins (GBR/Hagens Berman Jayco) at 4"

5th Adam Rafferty (IRL/Hagens Berman Jayco) at 4"

6th Wil Holmes (AUS/Hagens Berman Jayco) at 4"

7th Nikiforos Arvanitou (GRE/Team United Shipping) at 4"

8th Thor Vangsø Nielsen (DAN/AIRTOX - Carl Ras) at 5"

9th Teslo Henrik Fjellheim (NOR/Lillehammer CK Continental Team) at 5"

10th Reinardt Janse van Rensburg (RSA/Tshenolo Pro Cycling Team) at 5"