Tadej Pogacar and Geraint Thomas scare the group, then Tim Merlier beats Jonathan Milan in the sprint

Tim Merlier’s elegant signature closes the third stage of the Giro d’Italia with a bang, the first dedicated to fast wheels. The Soudal Quick-Step sprinter precedes everyone on the Fossano billiard straight, finding his eighth victory of the season and the second of his career in the pink race. The 1992 class features Jonathan Milan (13th second place in his career) and Bini Girmay, who despite a maximum effort in the last 150 meters had to settle for the second and third step of the podium. Only Olav Kooij was sixth, while Alberto Dainese brought home a precious top 10. The other great protagonist of the day is – for a change – Tadej Pogacar, who attacks like a madman with Geraint Thomas on the Stura di Demonte climb and almost manages to outwit the group, only to lose strength in the last 200m. In any case, the Slovenian can smile again today: he gained 2″ in the intermediate sprint and gave another demonstration of strength.