2018 Giro d’Italia: Stage 3 Results

Elia Viviani (Quick-Step Floors) made it two out of three in the 2018 Giro d’Italia by winning today’s bunch sprint in Eilat following on from yesterday’s victory in Tel Aviv. Rohan Dennis (BMC Racing Team) retained the Maglia Rosa with a one second advantage over second placed Tom Dumoulin (Team Sunweb), while Victor Campenaerts (Lotto-Soudal) – previously in third placed – has dropped down to 15th following the crosswinds towards the finale of today’s stage.

Three men – Enrico Barbin (Bardiani-CSF), Guillaume Boivin (Israel Cycling Academy) and Marco Frapporti (Androni-Sidermec) – set out soon after the start and were allowed by the peloton to open a six-minute advantage just ten kilometers into the stage. The trio fought for the intermediate sprints and the day’s sole categorized climb, while from behind, escorted by his Quick-Step Floors teammates, Elia Viviani bagged more points to extend his lead in the cyclamen jersey classification.

As the 229 kilometer stage, one of the longest of this edition, continued to take the bunch through the Negev Desert, second-year pro Rémi Cavagna moved to the front of the bunch, taking the reins and setting a fierce pace behind the escapees, who were reeled in some seven kilometers from the finish located in the Red Sea resort.

Czech Champion Zdenek Stybar and white jersey Max Schachmann put the hammer down with five kilometers to go, their huge tempo resulting in a strung out bunch. Elia Viviani remained at all times in the top ten positions and not even a late puncture of trusted lead-out man Fabio Sabatini could stop him from taking part in the bunch sprint, where despite being squeezed in by Sam Bennett (Bora-hansgrohe), he kept his composure and found the space needed to get past the Irishman, punching the air as he outsprinted countryman Sacha Modolo (EF Education First).

The points classification leader – first Italian since 2015 to notch up consecutive wins at the Corsa Rosa – took us through the last kilometers of stage 3, at the end of which he celebrated his eighth victory of the season.

“It wasn’t an easy day, we had some 2000 vertical meters and a nervous peloton, as many were afraid of the potential crosswinds. In the first two hours of the race I felt bad and my energy was low, but as the kilometers ticked down I began to feel better and knew I was the favourite at the finish. We took the front just before the first roundabout and remained there despite a puncture of Saba. Things became chaotic and with the headwind I decided to drop back and follow Bennett after the last corner. The rest is history, as they say.”

Quick-Step Floors leave Israel with two stage victories and two distinctive jersey, cyclamen worn by Viviani and white, which rests on the shoulders of Maximilian Schachmann (who is seventh in the GC), and the team’s rate of success brought a big smile on Elia’s face.

“We stayed together in this crazy final and did a great job. The guys were incredible today and this victory is for them. I can’t tell you how happy I am to have such a fantastic team around me”, Elia said immediately after the finish in Eilat.

“We’re living a dream and we are very happy! It was an unbelievable weekend in Israel, where we enjoyed not only a great start to the race, but also an excellent organization and the amazing support of the fans, who showed everybody how much they love this sport. Tomorrow is a rest day, but we’re eager to go to Italy and prove ourselves also there. These wins came as a confirmation of the fact that I can be at a high level in the Grand Tours and give me even more confidence for the next three weeks.”

Dennis Defends Maglia Rosa

Rohan Dennis survived a long and chaotic stage 3 of the Giro d’Italia to secure the Maglia Rosa for another day and carry the pink jersey onto Italian soil.

Dennis’ BMC Racing Team teammates took control of the race as soon as the flag dropped on the 229km stage from Be’er Sheva to Eilat, allowing three riders to go clear and assuming their position at the front of the bunch.

After letting the leading trio gain an advantage of more than seven minutes, Loïc Vliegen and Kilian Frankiny led the train and set a strong pace at the front which saw the breakaway’s lead quickly decrease.

Vliegen and Frankiny’s work saw the gap go down to 3’30” but with more than 100km still remaining, BMC Racing Team eased up on the chase and the gap came back to a manageable five minutes.

With an expected sprint in Eilat and strong winds forecast, the sprinters’ teams came to the front to assist Dennis’ teammates in the chase and with 60km remaining, the breakaway was less than one minute ahead of the bunch.

Dennis was well protected by his teammates going into the nervous finale, especially when the strong winds picked up in the final 20km, and as the catch was made with 6km to go, Dennis battled to stay safe as the sprint trains formed.

“It was very stressful today but I’m glad it’s done,” said Dennis at the finish. “It was a hard day., it was long, and we were somewhat lucky that it was a tailwind. The wind was very strong. The last 40 or 50km, when we were chasing the breakaway and especially the last 20km, we were sitting on 70km an hour so we couldn’t go any faster. It was super fast and we were lucky that it wasn’t a crosswind. Once again, the team did a great job and kept me up the front.”

“I was hoping for a stage victory on stage 1 but I would love to get a stage victory at some stage during this Giro d’Italia. It would be amazing to top off this Grand Tour. The time trial in Trento is a given but if I get an opportunity with the climbers, then I’m probably one of the quicker guys in the bunch. I’m never going to beat guys like Viviani but I think if the main sprinters aren’t there then I have a chance.”

“Tomorrow, I will rest as much as possible and go for a ride. The plan for the Italian stages will be to hold the jersey for as long as possible and then the battle after that will be getting to Rome.”

The Numbers:

Rohan Dennis took the 25th Maglia Rosa for Australian riders, putting Australia 8th on the nations’ ranking with 28 days in pink.

Two Italian stage wins in the first two days: it hasn’t happened since 2009 when Alessandro Petacchi won stage 2 (to Trieste) and stage 3 (to Valdobbiadene). There was only one Italian stage win last year: Vincenzo Nibali’s victory on stage 16 (to Bormio).

This is the eighth podium at the Giro d’Italia for Sacha Modolo who’s got two stage victories, two second places and four third places. It’s the sixth podium for Sam Bennett, after four in 2017 and two this year.

Brief Results:

1. Elia Viviani (Ita) Quick-Step Floors at 5:02:09
2. Sacha Modolo (Ita) EF Education First-Drapac p/b Cannondale s.t.
3. Sam Bennett (Irl) Bora-Hansgrohe s.t.
4. Jakub Mareczko (Ita) Wilier Triestina-Selle Italia s.t.
5. Danny van Poppel (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo s.t.
6. Jens Debusschere (Bel) Lotto Fix All s.t.
7. Manuel Belletti (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec s.t.
8. Baptiste Planckaert (Bel) Katusha-Alpecin s.t.
9. Mads Pedersen (Den) Trek-Segafredo s.t.
10. José Gonçalves (Por) Katusha-Alpecin s.t.

General Classification After Stage 3:

1. Rohan Dennis (Aus) BMC Racing Team
2. Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Sunweb at :01
3. José Gonçalves (Por) Katusha-Alpecin at :13
4. Alex Dowsett (GBr) Katusha-Alpecin at :17
5. Pello Bilbao (Spa) Astana Pro Team at :19
6. Simon Yates (GBr) Mitchelton-Scott at :21
7. Maximilian Schachmann (Ger) Quick-Step Floors at :22
8. Tony Martin (Ger) Katusha-Alpecin at :28
9. Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Bahrain-Merida s.t.
10. Carlos Betancur (Col) Movistar Team at :29