Pedersen wins opening Giro d'Italia stage in Albania and claims pink jersey

TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Former world champion Mads Pedersen narrowly beat Wout van Aert in a sprint finish to win the opening stage of the Giro d’Italia on Friday and claim the first pink jersey of this year’s race, which started in Albania for the first time.

Pedersen, who won the world title in 2019, edged Van Aert by half a wheel in the hilly 160-kilometer (99-mile) stage from Durrës to Tirana, which had a flat finish.

“We had a clear plan today and the team was really amazing to put that hard a tempo on the climb. That was exactly what we wanted,” Pedersen said of how his Lidl-Trek team set the pace on the final third-category climb. “We made a plan and we fulfilled the plan.”

It was Pedersen’s second career stage win in the Giro, having also won in Naples two years ago.

Pedersen has also won two stages at the Tour de France, and three at the Spanish Vuelta. Giro d'Italia organizers said he will be the first rider from Denmark to wear the pink jersey.

“To top it off with the pink jersey is absolutely amazing,” Pedersen said. “It’s my first leader’s jersey in a Grand Tour.”

Venezuelan rider Orluis Aular crossed third.

Overall contender Mikel Landa crashed toward the end of the stage and was carried away on a stretcher, forcing him to abandon the race.

The Soudal Quick-Step team said that Landa fractured a vertebra, which “will require Mikel to remain in a stable lying position for an extended period of time.”

The race remains in Albania for two more days. Stage 2 on Saturday is a 13.7-kilometer individual time trial in Tirana that will test overall contenders like Primoz Roglic and Juan Ayuso.

The three-week Grand Tour returns to Italy for Stage 4 in Puglia — directly across the Adriatic Sea from Albania. The finish is in Rome on June 1.

AP cycling: https://apnews.com/hub/cycling

Mads Pedersen of Lidl-Trek, right, celebrates winning stage 1 of the Giro d'Italia from Durazzo (Durres) to Tirana (Tirane), Albania, Friday, May 9, 2025. (Massimo Paolone/LaPresse via AP)

Mads Pedersen of Lidl-Trek celebrates winning stage 1 of the Giro d'Italia from Durazzo (Durres) to Tirana (Tirane), Albania, Friday, May 9, 2025. (Massimo Paolone/LaPresse via AP)

The pack rides during stage 1 of the Giro d'Italia from Durazzo (Durres) to Tirana (Tirane), Albania, Friday, May 9, 2025. (Gian Mattia D'Alberto/LaPresse via AP)

The final sprint of stage 1 of the Giro d'Italia from Durazzo (Durres) to Tirana (Tirane), Albania, Friday, May 9, 2025. (Massimo Paolone/LaPresse via AP)

Mads Pedersen of Lidl-Trek wins stage 1 of the Giro d'Italia from Durazzo (Durres) to Tirana (Tirane), Albania, Friday, May 9, 2025. (Massimo Paolone/LaPresse via AP)

The pack rides during the stage 1 of the Giro d'Italia from Durazzo (Durres) to Tirana (Tirane), Albania, Friday, May 9, 2025. (Fabio Ferrari/LaPresse via AP)

The pack rides during the stage 1 of the Giro d'Italia from Durazzo (Durres) to Tirana (Tirane), Albania, Friday, May 9, 2025. (Fabio Ferrari/LaPresse via AP)

The pack rides cycles through the during the stage 1 of the Giro d'Italia from Durazzo (Durres) to Tirana (Tirane), Albania, Friday, May 9, 2025. (Massimo Paolone/LaPresse via AP)

The pack rides during the stage 1 of the Giro d'Italia from Durazzo (Durres) to Tirana (Tirane), Albania, Friday, May 9, 2025. (Fabio Ferrari/LaPresse via AP)

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Richard “Dick” Codey, a former acting governor of New Jersey and the longest serving legislator in the state's history, died Sunday. He was 79.

Codey’s wife, Mary Jo Codey, confirmed her husband’s death to The Associated Press.

“Gov. Richard J. Codey passed away peacefully this morning at home, surrounded by family, after a brief illness,” Codey's family wrote in a Facebook post on Codey's official page.

"Our family has lost a beloved husband, father and grandfather -- and New Jersey lost a remarkable public servant who touched the lives of all who knew him," the family said.

Known for his feisty, regular-guy persona, Codey was a staunch advocate of mental health awareness and care issues. The Democrat also championed legislation to ban smoking from indoor areas and sought more money for stem cell research.

Codey, the son of a northern New Jersey funeral home owner, entered the state Assembly in 1974 and served there until he was elected to the state Senate in 1982. He served as Senate president from 2002 to 2010.

Codey first served as acting governor for a brief time in 2002, after Christine Todd Whitman’s resignation to join President George W. Bush’s administration. He held the post again for 14 months after Gov. Jim McGreevey resigned in 2004.

At that time, New Jersey law mandated that the Senate president assume the governor’s role if a vacancy occurred, and that person would serve until the next election.

Codey routinely drew strong praise from residents in polls, and he gave serious consideration to seeking the Democratic nomination for governor in 2005. But he ultimately chose not to run when party leaders opted to back wealthy Wall Street executive Jon Corzine, who went on to win the office.

Codey would again become acting governor after Corzine was incapacitated in April 2007 due to serious injuries he suffered in a car accident. He held the post for nearly a month before Corzine resumed his duties.

After leaving the governor’s office, Codey returned to the Senate and also published a memoir that detailed his decades of public service, along with stories about his personal and family life.

“He lived his life with humility, compassion and a deep sense of responsibility to others,” his family wrote. “He made friends as easily with Presidents as he did with strangers in all-night diners.”

Codey and his wife often spoke candidly about her past struggles with postpartum depression, and that led to controversy in early 2005, when a talk radio host jokingly criticized Mary Jo and her mental health on the air.

Codey, who was at the radio station for something else, confronted the host and said he told him that he wished he could “take him outside.” But the host claimed Codey actually threatened to “take him out,” which Codey denied.

His wife told The Associated Press that Codey was willing to support her speaking out about postpartum depression, even if it cost him elected office.

“He was a really, really good guy,” Mary Jo Codey said. “He said, ‘If you want to do it, I don’t care if I get elected again.’”

Jack Brook contributed reporting from New Orleans.

FILE - New Jersey State Sen. and former Democratic Gov. Richard Codey is seen before New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy delivers his State of the State address to a joint session of the Legislature at the statehouse, in Trenton, N.J., Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)