The breakaway held on until 500 metres to go after a long and fast run-in, culminating in a ferocious bunch sprint won by maglia ciclamino Paul Magnier.
Cor Vos
The third and final day of the Grande Partenza ended in the anticipated bunch sprint in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia, with Paul Magnier adding to his stage 1 victory in a photo finish ahead of Jonathan Milan and Dylan Groenewegen.
It was a nervous finale for the peloton that almost saw the breakaway they’d carefully controlled all day slip the leash in the run in. With 8 km to go, the gap was down to a very manageable 18 seconds, but it then got stuck. Manuele Tarozzi (Bardiani CSF 7 Saber), Diego Sevilla and Alessandro Tonelli (Polti-VisitMalta) fought desperately until the flamme rouge, but the trio was out of luck, and they were caught with 500 metres remaining.
Decathlon-CMA CGM and the Unibet Rose Rockets led the catch with Jonathan Milan tucked on the back of the Rockets train. When the road then kinked left at the 200-metre marker, Milan swept to the front and began his gallop, Magnier and Gorenewegen slotted into his wheel. The last stretch to the line was raced on cobbles – not the brutally uneven cobbles of the Classics, but plenty loose and dusty enough to affect traction, and Milan’s erratic style was not a good match. The big Italian skittered along the right side of the road, with Magnier scorching up the middle, and Groenewegen finding space on the young Frenchman’s other side. The three of them crossed the line together, and for a moment Magnier’s celebration looked like it might have been misjudged. However, the photo soon showed him to be the true victor.
[race_result id=13 stage_id=89965 count=5 gc=0 year=2026]
[race_result id=13 stage_id=89965 count=5 gc=5 year=2026]
Quote of the day
I dreamed about it, and it was the goal to go for a stage again. The team did an amazing job, they controlled the day and then we had the plan to really be in good position with one km to go, and that’s what we did, and then – I was not really sure I’d won the stage, to be honest. I celebrate and then I was not sure, but in the end I won so I’m really happy.”
– Paul Magnier said at the finish
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