Mil-li-me-ters! Magnier edges out Turner, and continues his excellent run in the third stage of the CRO Race

Magnier won the first stage of the Croatian stage race with ease, and a day later, even a revised course couldn't stop the Frenchman. Strong winds meant that stage two was significantly shortened, but in the uphill sprint, the fast sprinter from Laredo won once again.

On Thursday, the 150.5-kilometer stage included some elevation gain, but there were certainly no really steep or long climbs. The peloton may have feared the dominant Magnier in advance, so it was questionable how the pack would try to prevent another sprint. In any case, the wind was blowing strongly again.

Five breakaway riders took a chance. Just like on day one, Dutchman Casper van der Woude was among them. The Metec-Solarwatt rider was accompanied by Baptiste Poulard (Arkéa-B&B Hotels), Mark Stewart (Solution Tech-Vini Fantini), Martin Voltr (ATT Investments), and Patryk Stosz (Voster ATS).

The leading group quickly pulled away, and the peloton was okay with that. As a result, the five riders built up a lead of about two minutes. Not too much of a margin, as after a long and flat opening phase, the route slowly but surely started to climb a little. Halfway through, the climb to Sasina was on the agenda, a 16-kilometer route with an average gradient of 2.5%. The breakaway riders started there with a lead of 1:40 minutes.

The five survived the climb and even extended their lead. They arrived at the second and final climb of the day with a lead of about two minutes. The road climbed for 5 kilometers at an average gradient of 4.4% towards Bribir, with the top of the climb just under forty kilometers from the finish.

It wasn't completely flat to the finish, and after the leading group was caught 13 kilometers from the finish, the road surface became dirty and uphill. As a result, we saw many riders accelerate, with the favorites for the overall victory also mixing it up at the front.

It would all be in vain, as despite a turbulent final phase, there was still a sprint in Rijeka. Turner was well positioned, with Magnier on his wheel. The sprinters crossed the finish line almost simultaneously, and neither of them cheered. Who would ultimately win? Magnier managed to secure his third consecutive victory.