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Fernando Gaviria takes stage win after dramatic day at the Giro

  • Ron 

Despite actually crossing the line in second, Fernando Gaviria took home the win in Stage 3 of the 2019 Giro d’Italia following a decision by race officials to relegate Elia Viviani (Deceuninck – Quick Step) after he was deemed to have impeded an opponent in the final sprint.

There was nothing to separate the peloton as they came into the final kilometres in a large bunch, but with riders wrestling to get into a good position, there was an unfortunate crash at just 3km from the finish; fortunately the key contenders for the stage win were not involved. Ahead of a tricky and narrow chicane just one kilometre out, Gaviria held his position and came into the closing 500 metres on the wheel of one of his fellow riders, before launching his attack. The win – Gaviria’s fifth career Giro d’Italia stage victory – also puts the Colombian top of the Points Classification.

Commenting on the result, Gaviria said: “This isn’t really how I wanted to win and that’s why I didn’t celebrate on the podium. In my view Viviani is the winner today. I don’t think he did it on purpose – he came straight out from Ackermann’s slipstream. This is the first time I’ve ‘won’ because of the relegation rule but I guess these things happen, especially in sprinting. Regardless of the result my team did a great job and I hope to repay them with a clear win as soon as possible.”

Stage four is a hilly 235km route from Orbetello to Frascati, and should be a good test for the General Classification (GC) contenders. Spectators can expect a punchy finale to the stage as riders battle an uphill finish, on the undulating and twisting roads in the Rome suburb.

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