Tim Merlier (Soudal-Quick Step) has won stage three of the Giro d’Italia in an exciting sprint finish.
Today’s relatively flat stage was the first opportunity for the sprinters, but it wouldn’t be so easy. With a 5.3% uphill drag from -4.5km to -3km, both sprinters and GC contenders jostled for position before the finale.
As the peloton approached the final rise, Mikkel Frølich Honoré (EF Education-Easypost) launched an unexpected attack, pursued by Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) and Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) who was forced to react.
“It wasn’t the plan,” said Thomas after the race. “I saw Honoré was there and I saw Pogačar go, so I was like: ‘I might as well go.’”
As they came to the final corner, there was still a big gap to close. Matteo Trentin (Tudor Cycling) made the first move, but it was Tobias Lund Andresen (dsm-firmenich PostNL) who led the charge to catch Pogačar and Thomas, who were still out in front with 500 metres to go.
Jonathan Milan launched his sprint on the left-hand side but Merlier, with a sustained burst of power, beat him to the line, claiming the stage victory and his eighth win of the season. Milan finished second, with Biniam Girmay (Intermarché Wanty) third.
“It was the hardest victory so far. It was a really hard final,” said Merlier after the race. “We came back, but in the last kilometre, I never found a good slipstream. I was always in the wind.
"At 300 metres, I said: ‘You need to go.’ I could also see that Milan was starting his sprint on the left side. I knew I was going to be first or second, but I’m happy I won this one.”
HOW IT HAPPENED
Sprint stages can be predictable, but there were some surprises in store for riders —and viewers— in stage three.
Leaving the northern Italian city of Novara in overcast, cooler conditions, Tadej Pogačar was resplendent in pink, with Cian Uijtdebroeks (Visma-Lease a Bike) in the white young rider’s jersey and Filippo Fiorelli (VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè) in the purple sprinter’s Maglia Ciclamino.
Eddie Dunbar (Jayco AlUla) did not start, having sustained a knee injury in yesterday’s crash. Simon Carr (EF Education-EasyPost) abandoned later in the race, also due to knee problems.
Although it was mostly flat, the stage had one categorised climb at Lu (with mountain points up for grabs), plus the short climb of Cherasco close to the end, with bonus seconds on offer. There were also two intermediate sprint opportunities for those with their eyes on the Maglia Ciclamino.
It was Lilian Calmejane (Intermarché Wanty) who put an end to the race’s initially calm start, attacking the peloton before the climb to Lu, with just over 100 kilometres to go. Davide Ballerini (Astana Qazaqstan) followed and, after a brief discussion between the two riders, Calmejane took the three king of the mountains points, with Ballerini taking two. Jasper Stuyven (Lidl-Trek) took the final point.
Although Calmejane and Ballerini quickly rejoined the peloton, their work for the day done, they had disrupted the race. As much as riders looking for an easier day out might have wished it, the leisurely pace of the beginning was not to return.
With some 83 kilometres remaining, a large group of around 25 riders gained 1 minute 40 on the peloton. It included race favourites like Merlier, Kooij, Milan, Girmay, Caleb Ewan (Jayco–AlUla) and Danny van Poppel (Bora-Hansgrohe), as well as key lead-out men.
Jonathan Milan would take 12 points at both intermediate sprints, beating Olav Kooij (Visma-Lease a Bike) and Merlier at the first, and surging through on the right-hand side at the second, with Merlier and van Poppel on his wheel. It appeared to be a sign of things to come.
With just over 40 kilometres remaining, the peloton did come back together, but the pace remained unrelenting. At the Cherasco climb, Ben Swift (Ineos Grenadiers) claimed three bonus seconds, with Pogačar winning two and Thomas taking one.
The sprinters had their work cut out, with GC contenders equally keen to remain in the mix at the front of the peloton. Ineos Grenadiers set an explosive pace for Thomas up the final 1.5-kilometre climb, making life even harder for the fast men. But on the final flat section into Fossano with 2.8 kilometres to go, it was Mikkel Frølich Honoré (EF Education-Easypost) who made his surprise attack. Pogačar and Thomas followed, eventually dropping Honoré, and the peloton was forced to chase.
Could Pogačar win this sprint stage? No. Today was Merlier’s day, with the Belgian beating Milan and Girmay to the line.
“Maybe we could have chosen to pace on the last hill. I wanted to with Bert [Van Lerberghe] but he waited a bit longer than I wanted,” Merlier reflected after the stage. “But in the end, it was a good situation: Mauri Vansevenant was there, Julian Alaphilippe was there, Luke Lamperti was there, Bert was there. They all did a great job."
Pogačar also commented on the stage’s unexpected finale. “Mikkel attacked, and I was on his wheel. I followed and Thomas joined. We tried to keep on going - it’s still better to be in front than to stay in the bunch.
“I never thought today was a good chance for me to win. In the end it was 400 metres to the finish, but 400 metres is still a long way from the finish. It was a good effort from myself, G and Mikkel Honoré. It was good to stretch the legs a little bit.”
“I looked back and was surprised to see such a big gap, but I knew they were going to come,” Thomas agreed. “I was just trying to hold [Pogačar’s] wheel. I tried to give him a turn, but it was solid…Bit different.”
RESULTS
1. Tim Merlier (Bel) Soudal Quick-Step in 3h54’35”
2. Jonathan Milan (Ita) Lidl-Trek +0:00
3. Biniam Girmay (Eri) Intermarché-Wanty +0:00
4. Jenthe Biermans (Bel) Arkéa-B&B Hotels +0:00
5. Tobias Lund Andresen (Den) dsm-firmenich PostNL +0:00
6. Olav Kooij (Ned) Team Visma | Lease a Bike +0:00
7. Ethan Vernon (GB) Israel-PremierTech +0:00
8. Stanisław Aniołkowski (Pol) Cofidis +0:00
9. Fernando Gaviria (Col) Movistar +0:00
10. Alberto Dainese (Ita) Tudor +0:00
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION AFTER STAGE 3
1. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates, in 11:03:02
2. Geraint Thomas (GBr) Ineos Grenadiers, +46s
3. Daniel Felipe Martínez (Col) Bora-Hansgrohe, +47s
4. Einer Rubio (Col) Movistar, +56s
5. Cian Uijtdebroeks (Bel) Visma-Lease a Bike, +56s
6. Lorenzo Fortunato (Ita) Astana Qazaqstan, +1:07
7. Juan Pedro López (Esp) Lidl-Trek, +1:11
8. Jan Hirt (Cze) Soudal Quick-Step, +1:13
9. Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz) Astana Qazaqstan, +1:26
10. Ben O’Connor (Aus) Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale, +1:26
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