Taco van der Hoorn of the Intermarché – Wanty – Gobert Matériaux team claimed an unexpected solo victory today in the 3rd stage of the 2021 Giro d’Italia. Hoorn was the only one of the eight breakaway riders to stay away despite the fast chase of the reduced peloton. The Dutchman was very emotional on the finish line in Canale where Filippo Ganna retained the overall lead on the 90th birthday of the Maglia Rosa.
Van der Hoorn hadn’t won a race since the 2018 Classic Impanis-Van Petegem, 968 days ago. This is his 4th professional victory.
Speaking in the press conference, the stage winner said: “I didn’t know there were only four seconds between myself and the peloton. Maybe that’s because I celebrated too much in the last 100 meters. I also felt the presence of the peloton but I looked back a few times and I could see they were quite far behind. I knew about the two sharp corners in the last kilometer but I didn’t know how sharp they were. It was a big goal for me to go in the breakaway today. I had planned that no breakaway would go without me. It wasn’t the plan to finish off like this but I had to take the small chance I had. This first victory of the year means a lot for my new team. We felt good behind the scenes and we came close at the Tour of Algarve. I’m happy the team gave me a nice program and some freedom after the two years I spent at Jumbo-Visma working for Wout van Aert in the classics or chasing breakaways down for Dylan Groenewegen.”
Maglia Rosa Filippo Ganna said: “For sure I came to the Giro a little low on confidence after some defeats but I managed to make up for it in Turin. It became a personal goal of mine to retain the Maglia Rosa today. Anyone can think what they want but I’ll be at the disposal of the team tomorrow. I’ve seen Egan Bernal has been very motivated these past two days. I hope the Maglia Rosa will stay with us but if it goes to another team tomorrow we’ll race in a more passive way. Remco Evenepoel has impressed me climbing on a big gear today, I don’t know where he found the energy to do that, hats off to him.”
2021 Giro d’Italia: Stage 3 Results
- Taco van der Hoorn (Intermarché – Wanty – Gobert Matériaux) – 190km in 4h21’29”, avg. speed 43.597 km/h
- Davide Cimolai (Israel Start-Up Nation) at 4”
- Peter Sagan (Bora – Hansgrohe) s.t.
General Classification After Stage 3:
- Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers)
- Tobias Foss (Jumbo-Visma) at 16″
- Remco Evenepoel (Deceuninck – Quick-Step) at 20″
Jerseys
- Maglia Rosa (pink), general classification leader, sponsored by Enel – Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers)
- Maglia Ciclamino (cyclamen), sprinter classification leader, sponsored by Segafredo Zanetti – Tim Merlier (Alpecin-Fenix)
- Maglia Azzurra (blue), King of the Mountains classification leader, sponsored by Banca Mediolanum – Vincenzo Albanese (Eolo-Kometa Cycling Team)
- Maglia Bianca (white), young rider general classification leader, sponsored by Intimissimi Uomo – Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers), worn by Tobias Foss (Jumbo-Visma)
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