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Follow us on GooglePaul Magnier has won stage 3 of the Giro d'Italia to add to his stage 1 victory. After 175 kilometres from Plovdiv to Sofia, the final of the three Bulgarian stages gave the sprinters a second shot at glory. Jonathan Milan launched his sprint first, but the Italian was outmanoeuvred by Magnier coming through the middle. Dylan Groenewegen finished third.
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Magnier's stage 1 win had given France its first pink jersey wearer of the race — though he lost it after just one day. Jonas Vingegaard put the hammer down in stage 2, but it was Guillermo Thomas Silva (XDS Astana) who took the surprise victory. The Uruguayan became the first rider from his country to win a Grand Tour stage, making history immediately on arrival.
But the bigger story had been the crashes. Stage 1 saw the sprint blown apart by a mass pile-up, with Groenewegen and Kaden Groves among those caught up. Stage 2 brought down thirty riders, with Santiago Buitrago, Jay Vine, Marc Soler and Andrea Vendrame all abandoning, and Adam Yates and Derek Gee-West among the most seriously affected.
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Adam Yates did not get back on stage 3 on Sunday
Early break quickly formed in stage 3
Stage 3 looked set to be another day for the fast men, with barely a climb in sight — bar one midway through the stage: a 9.2-kilometre ascent at 5.3% that could yet cause some stress for the (already battered) sprinters. In the first 80 kilometres, however, it was first the turn of a three-man breakaway.
Diego Sevilla (Polti VisitMalta) went along for the third consecutive day as mountains leader. The Spaniard already had 24 KOM points and was hoping to add a few more on the Borovets Pass. He was joined by teammate Alessandro Tonelli and Manuele Tarozzi of Bardiani CSF 7 Saber. Together they built a maximum lead of well over three minutes.
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Sprinters left alone on the stage's only climb
Several sprint teams joined forces in the peloton to control the chase, among them Soudal Quick-Step for Magnier and Unibet Rose Rockets for Groenewegen. Together they kept the gap at around two and a half minutes, and it stayed that way for a long stretch — because on the Borovets Pass, the sprinters were never really put under pressure.
Arnaud De Lie struggled and was dropped, but with the help of his teammates and former colleague Victor Campenaerts (Visma | Lease a Bike) he made it back on the descent. From there the pace ticked up a notch — but with the peloton in no rush to swallow the break too early, the three leaders still had a full minute in hand entering the final 20 kilometres.
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Cobblestones in the finale as a bunch sprint decides the stage
Inside the final 10 kilometres, the moment came to reel in the trio at the front. Sevilla could reflect with satisfaction on six climbs' worth of maximum mountain points across the first three days, while Tarozzi claimed some consolation with a win in the last intermediate sprint of the day. Still, they were allowed to keep hoping right until the final kilometre, with the peloton flooding across the full width of the road behind them.
Then it was time for the sprint — and in the closing kilometres, the riders even rolled across Bulgarian cobblestones to reach the line. With 500 metres to go, the fast men were rattling over the stones, and in that juddering, chaotic charge it was an epic three-way battle between Milan, Magnier and Groenewegen. In the end, Magnier's points jersey crossed the line first in a photo finish — the Frenchman's perfectly timed bike throw making all the difference.
Stage 3 results — Giro d'Italia 2026
Results powered by FirstCycling.com
Bram van der PloegEditor-in-chief
Bram van der Ploeg (35) is the proud founder of In de Leiderstrui, IDL Pro Cycling's parent site, launched in 2018. Finally, he could create stories about the sport he had followed since childhood. He is the editor-in-chief on paper, but prefers to be with his recorder next to a rider, a team bus, or in the mud at a cyclocross race. Every year, from February to the end of May, Bram follows the entire Italian cycling season, from the Trofeo Laigueglia to the Giro d'Italia, with the grand finale in October in Lombardy. During that time, he lives in Tuscany, where he has since come to call Italy his 'home'.
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Latest Comments
- Is the Giro the race that happens before the Tour? And does winning the mountains jersey mean Carapaz scored the most points on climbs? Which race was everyone’s favourite?bikebuffj05-11-2026
- How did Mathieu van der Poel miss the list? His classics results surely put him in the conversation.sprocketspiny05-11-2026
- McNulty deserves more credit than his ranking suggests. A world title and all that work as a domestique make for a superb season.tourdeforce905-11-2026
- Seixas winning Lombardia at 20 is astonishing. The “next Pogačar” label feels a bit premature, though—let him build his own story before piling on the comparisons.andrewf05-11-2026
- Pogačar’s palmarès is ridiculous, but Van Aert deserves a special mention for Roubaix. Beating Tadej in the velodrome was one of the moments of the season.cyclechamp4505-11-2026
- I’m still learning the calendar: is cyclocross mainly preparation for the spring classics, or does he race it as a separate goal as well? I’d love to see him back in the mud.jeremya04-11-2026
- The article makes it sound as if Roubaix is the only classic where he has a realistic shot. He’s been close in Flanders too, and one good tactical day can change everything.jennifer1904-11-2026
- Milan-Sanremo and Roubaix is a pretty special pair of Monuments. Any clues yet on which cyclocross races he’ll target?andrewf04-11-2026
- He’s right to be realistic about Flanders with Pogačar and Evenepoel around, but you can’t count Van Aert out on those roads. If he gets the right opportunity, he has the engine and experience to take it.davidm04-11-2026
- That Roubaix win felt like such a release after all the near-misses. Brilliant to hear that joy outweighed relief for Wout.patriciaw04-11-2026
