Mangier Edges Milan in Monster Sprint on Giro d’Italia Stage 3

Stage 1 winner Paul Magnier was triumphant again at the Giro d’Italia on Sunday, overhauling Jonathan Milan to win stage 3 of the race.

Milan led out the gallop but Magnier hovered in his slipstream and then darted past, holding off a fast finishing Dylan Groenewegen to land the win.

The result cements Magnier’s grip on the points jersey and sees him depart Bulgaria in an upbeat move heading towards the race restart on Tuesday in Catanzaro, Italy.

“I dreamed about it, it was the goal to go for a stage again,” the 22 -year-old Frenchman said. “The team did an amazing job again. They controlled the day and then we had the plan to really be in a good position with 1k to go and this is what we did.”

However he had a moment of doubt after Groenewegen lunged for the line off to his left. The Dutchman is part of the up and coming Unibet Rose Rockets team and gave his all to try to get past.

“I was not really sure to win the stage, to be honest. I celebrated and then I said, ‘oh, I am not sure,’ Magnier admitted. “But in the end I won so I am really happy.”

He is riding his first Grand Tour and now has two victories to his credit. That’s a big confidence boost, and so too is beating some of the most accomplished sprinters in the world.

“Now I have to say that I feel really good and I can be with the best sprinters in the world,” he said. “So I will try to enjoy this moment and keep going like this.”

The finale was a dramatic one with the day’s breakaway only caught inside the final 500 meters.

Stage 2 winner Thomas Silva (XDS Astana Team) continues to lead overall, four seconds ahead of Florian Stork (Tudor Pro Cycling) and Egan Bernan (Netcompany Ineos).

A day-long breakaway goes close

Stage three of the Giro d’Italia was the final day in Bulgaria and featured just one categorized climb, the second category Borovets Pass. This came just over halfway through the 175km stage, and would be followed closer to the end by the Red Bull KM sprint.

King of the mountains leader Diego Pablo Sevilla plus fellow Team Polti VisitMalta rider Alessandro Tonelli went on the attack again, and were joined by Manuele Tarozzi (Bardiani CSF 7 Saber). They quickly gained almost four minutes but the sprinters teams were working behind to ensure a big group finish and reduced this gap somewhat.

Sevilla picked up maximum points on the climb and the trio continued to race on towards the finish, holding an advantage of 2:08 with 59km to go and just 40 seconds with 40km left on the clock. This caused the sprinters’ teams to back off, with this enabling Tarozzi to win the Red Bull sprint with 12.8km left.

The trio raised their game to try to stay out until the end, and were only caught inside 500 meters to go.

The sprinters hurled themselves to the front and Milan led out, with Magnier edging past and Groenewegen taking third.

Race leader Silva rolled in safely and holds the pink jersey.

“An incredible day,” he said. “I enjoyed it immensely, and we actually kept it, so first objective achieved.”

He confirmed he recovered well after stage 2 and was able to savor his time in the Maglia Rosa.

“The beginning of the race was relatively calm, which allowed me to really enjoy it, and then there was a bit of tension to see if the breakaway would make it past the Red Bull kilometer mark. But all in all, we can say that it was, all things considered, an easy day.”

A brief lull, and then GC battle begins to rage

Next up for the Giro d’Italia is a transfer to Italy and a rest day on Monday. That gives Silva an extra day to soak up the atmosphere and to engage with far more media requests than he ever had before.

It may be a once in a lifetime opportunity, and he’s determined to make the most of it.

“It’s incredible, and I think it’s even more incredible to be able to enter Italy wearing the leader’s jersey,” the first-ever Grand Tour leader from Uruguay said.

Magnier, too, is planning to soak up the good vibes.

“First of all we will go travel to Italy and then enjoy the second victory because this is something amazing,” he said.

“When we arrive in Italy we will try to make a new plan and go for another stage.”