The last time a rider won back-to-back Giro d鈥橧talia titles 鈥� Spanish great Miguel Indurain in 1992 and 1993 鈥� the Toronto Blue Jays were winning their two World Series championships, Bill Clinton had just started his presidency and nobody had heard of Monica Lewinsky.
The repeat is not easy to accomplish in the second most important stage race in the world behind the Tour de France.
The 2012 Giro-champion Ryder Hesjedal of Victoria played it cool Saturday in opening defence of his title. Hesjedal tucked safely into mid-pack with the peloton and placed 63rd in the 130-kilometre first stage as 207 riders from 31 nations negotiated their way through the narrow and twisting streets of Naples.
British sprint star Mark Cavendish, surviving a spill that took down several riders two kilometres from the finish line, bolted to the finish to take the opening stage and pink jersey as early leader.
鈥淚鈥檓 very happy today. It鈥檚 not easy to ride at the front, on climbs, curves and cobble stones at high speed,鈥� said Cavendish, in a statement.
鈥淏ut my team did so all day. They delivered me to the front at the right moment and thankfully I had the speed to finish it off.鈥�
The 17.4-kilometre team time trial goes today from Ischia to Forio and the Hesjedal-led defending-team champion Garmin-Sharp squad will be looking to make a statement to the 22 other teams.
The third leg, Monday, is a 222-kilometre medium-mountain stage from Sorrento to Marina di Ascea. The 21-stage race concludes May 26 in Brescia.
The closest a Canadian had come to even reaching the podium in a Grand Tour event before Hesjedal was the fourth-place finish by Steve Bauer in the 1988 Tour de France. The 32-year-old Colwood-raised Hesjedal, who placed sixth in the 2010 Tour, changed all that last year.
But the Islander faces a fierce challenge in this year鈥檚 Giro from Italian favourite Vincenzo Nibali and 2012 Tour de France champion and London Summer Olympics time-trial gold-medallist Sir Bradley Wiggins of Britain, both of whom finished mid-peloton with Hesjedal on Saturday.
Other main challengers include 2011 Tour de France champion Cadel Evans of Australia, Robert Gesink of the Netherlands and 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics road-race champion Samual Sanchez of Spain.
鈥淚 feel great. Better than I did last year,鈥� said Hesjedal, heading into Saturday鈥檚 opening leg.
鈥淚鈥檓 healthy and happy.鈥�
Because of the breakthrough nature of the Giro win, Hesjedal was rewarded with the 2012 Lionel Conacher Award as top Canadian male athlete of the year as voted on by member newspapers and stations of Canadian Press and Broadcast News. That was despite encountering misfortune later in the year.
He crashed out of the Tour de France with injuries and failed to make an impact in the London Olympics, without any other Canadian racers there to ride in support in the road race. He also had a year鈥檚 worth of punishing wear-and-tear that affected his performance in the individual time trial.
