2024 Giro d'Italia Stage 3 Results & Recap
Stage 3 of the 2024 Giro d'Italia is in the books. The final results and standings are below, followed by our recap of how the race unfolded.
Race Recap
Sprint win for Merlier, Pogacar still race leader
Tadej Pogacar and Geraint Thomas's daring hill attack in the final stretch of the 3rd stage was a sight to behold, but their lead was short-lived as the pack caught up within the last 300 meters. The stage victory was then decided in a sprint, with Tim Merlier emerging as the victor after 166km of flat racing through the Po Valley. Pogacar, however, maintained his lead in the general classification.
No rider took an interest in forming the breakaway until the approach of the only climb of the day. Then Lilian Calmejane and Davide Ballerini took off. The Frenchman took the most KOM points, and before the first intermediate sprints came up, it was gruppo compatto again.
Jonathan Milan won the intermediate sprint before the first group kept on pushing. Most sprinters were on board, but only Fabio Jakobsen, Fernando Gaviria, and Laurence Pithie missed it.
The front group carved out a lead of almost 2 minutes. While the gap drops below 1 minute, the peloton splits in two. Cian Uijtdebroeks found himself on the wrong side of the split. Following a furious chase on three fronts, all groups merged within the last 44 kilometres.
Pogacar gained a time bonus of two seconds in Cherasco, and Geraint Thomas took 1 in the intermediate sprint.
The race, as expected, came down to a bunch sprint, but the finale held a surprise. Mikkel Honoré attacked on a hill with 3 kilometres to go, and Pogacar and Thomas followed his move. The two dropped Honoré before the peloton charged past in the last 300 metres. Merlier outsprinted Milan in Fossano, while Pogacar retained the pink jersey by 47 seconds ahead of Thomas.
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