The first bunch sprint of the Giro d’Italia 2024 went to Tim Merlier. In the streets of Fossano, the Belgian from Soudal Quick-Step was the fastest after 166.3 kilometers, ahead of Italian Jonathan Milan (Lidl – Trek). The ‘Maglia Rosa’ remained in the hands of Slovenian Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates).
In the early stages, the climbers concentrated on the battle for the mountains jersey. At the top of Lu (3.4 km à 3.8%), fourth category, Frenchman Lilian Calmejane (Intermarché – Wanty) took the points on the only climb of the day.
The first part of the flat day was animated by a group of sprinters with 23 riders missing only Fernando Gaviria (Movistar Team), Fabio Jakobsen (Team DSM-Firmernich Postnl), Giovanni Lonardi (Team Polti Kometa) and Juan Sebastian Molano (UAE Team Emirates), but with 47 km to go they were all neutralized by the peloton thanks to the work of Movistar and Polti Kometa.
The next highlight of the race was in the Intergiro contest, where the sprinters fought for the ‘maglia ciclamino’ points. Italian Jonathan Milan (Lidl – Trek) took the 12 points, ahead of Belgian Tim Merlier (Soudal Quick-Step) and Kaden Groves (Alpecin – Deceuninck).
Then came a sprint that awarded time bonuses, British rider Ben Swift (INEOS Grenadiers) took the three seconds, while Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) got a 2″ bonus and Geraint Thomas (INEOS Grenadiers) a second.
In the closing, Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) tried with a distant attack on a climb, however, the Slovenian was overtaken by the fast men about 300 meters from the finish line.
Regarding the Colombians taking part in the Giro, all six were reported in the bunch with the same time as the winner. The best was Fernando Gaviria (Movistar Team) in 9th place. Then followed Juan Sebastián Molano (UAE Team Emirates) in 11th place, while Daniel Felipe Martínez (BORA – hansgrohe) came 34th, Einer Rubio (Movistar Team) 38th, Esteban Chaves (EF Education – EasyPost) 64th and Nairo Quintana (Movistar Team) 90th.
This Tuesday the Italian round will continue with the fourth part of 190 kilometers between Acqui Terme and Andora, which includes a third category mountain prize in the middle of the route, on a flat finish.
Giro d’Italia 2024 (2.UWT)
Results Stage 3 | Novara – Fossano (166,3 km)
| 1 | Tim Merlier | Soudal Quick-Step | 3:54:35 |
| 2 | Jonathan Milan | Lidl – Trek | ,, |
| 3 | Biniam Girmay | Intermarché – Wanty | ,, |
| 4 | Jenthe Biermans | Arkéa – B&B Hotels | ,, |
| 5 | Tobias Lund Andresen | Team dsm-firmenich PostNL | ,, |
| 6 | Olav Kooij | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | ,, |
| 7 | Ethan Vernon | Israel – Premier Tech | 3:10 |
| 8 | Stanisław Aniołkowski | Cofidis | 0:00 |
| 9 | Fernando Gaviria | Movistar Team | ,, |
| 10 | Alberto Dainese | Tudor Pro Cycling Team | ,, |
Ranking General
| 1 | Tadej Pogačar | UAE Team Emirates | 11:03:02 |
| 2 | Geraint Thomas | INEOS Grenadiers | 0:46 |
| 3 | Daniel Felipe Martínez | BORA – hansgrohe | 0:47 |
| 4 | Einer Rubio | Movistar Team | 0:56 |
| 5 | Cian Uijtdebroeks | Team Visma | Lease a Bike | ,, |
| 6 | Lorenzo Fortunato | Astana Qazaqstan Team | 1:07 |
| 7 | Juan Pedro López | Lidl – Trek | 1:11 |
| 8 | Jan Hirt | Soudal Quick-Step | 1:13 |
| 9 | Alexey Lutsenko | Astana Qazaqstan Team | 1:26 |
| 10 | Ben O’Connor | Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team | ,, |
Source: Revista Mundo Ciclístico