Michael Matthews won the third stage of the Giro d’Italia on Monday. The Australian from Team Jayco-AlUla was the fastest in the sprint with the thinned peloton in finish place Melfi.
Matthews started early in the sprint for the stage victory and just managed to keep Mads Pedersen behind. The Dane finished second. Australian Kaden Groves completed the podium in third place.
It is the third victory of his career in the Giro for Matthews and the fifteenth in a grand tour. It is also his first victory since last year’s Tour de France. Matthews struggled with illness in the first weeks of this season and therefore had to cancel for Milan-San Remo, among other things.
Remco Evenepoel kept the lead in the general classification without any problems. Shortly before the finish at the intermediate sprint, the Belgian even gained three bonus seconds ahead of Primoz Roglic (two bonus seconds). The difference between the two in the general classification is therefore 44 seconds.
Evenepoel and Roglic can really show whether they are in shape in the first mountain stage of this 106th edition of the Giro on Tuesday. The start is then in Venosa and the line is drawn in the ski resort of Lago Laceno, shortly after the 9.6 km long and at times extremely steep Colle Molella.
