Pedersen wins stage three to reclaim Giro lead

Mads Pedersen has now won eight Grand Tour stages

Mads Pedersen reclaimed the leader's pink jersey at the Giro d'Italia by sprinting to victory on stage three.

The Dane, who won the opening stage, held off Corbin Strong to claim his second victory of the race in Vlore, Albania.

By claiming 10 bonus seconds for the win, Pedersen moved back ahead of overnight leader Primoz Roglic, who finished safely in the bunch.

Pedersen, 29, now leads Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe rider Roglic by nine seconds in the general classification, with his Lidl-Trek team-mate Mathias Vacek five seconds further back in third.

Earlier in the stage, Intermarche-Wanty rider Dion Smith managed to stay upright despite being clipped by a mountain goat running across the road.

Pedersen's win capped off a fine ride by his Lidl-Trek team as they controlled the peloton, preventing any decisive attacks on the last climb and reeling in the breakaway.

The former world champion was well positioned in the home straight, kicking early and displaying impressive power to hold off the charge of New Zealand's Strong.

"Everyone in the team just did a super amazing job on the climb," said Pedersen.

"To have two stage victories already and now back in the pink, that's exactly what we wanted."

Slovenia's Roglic, who won the 2023 Giro, will not be fazed by losing the overall lead at this point, with 18 stages to come and less pressure now on his team to defend the jersey.

His nearest main title rival, Spain's Juan Ayoso is 16 seconds back on Roglic in fifth overall. Britain's Max Poole is currently seventh, 33 seconds down on Pedersen.

Pedersen will be targeting a third stage win when the race resumes in Italy following Monday's rest day.

Tuesday's stage four is a 189km flat stage for the sprinters from Alberobello to Lecce.

Stage three results

1. Mads Pedersen (Den/Lidl-Trek) 3hrs 49mins 47secs

2. Corbin Strong (NZ/Israel-Premier Tech) Same time

3. Orluis Aular (Ven/Movistar)

4. Brandon Rivera (Col/Ineos Grenadiers)

5. Edoardo Zambanini (Ita/Bahrain Victorious)

6. Stefano Oldani (Ita/Cofidis)

7. Andrea Vendrame (Ita/Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale)

8. Filippo Fiorelli (Ita/VF Group-Bardiani-CSF-Faizane)

9. Christian Scaroni (Ita/XDS-Astana)

10. Davide de Pretto (Ita/Team Jayco–AlUla)

General classification after stage three

1. Mads Pedersen (Den/Lidl-Trek) 7hrs 42mins 10 secs

2. Primoz Roglic (Slo/Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) +9secs

3. Mathias Vacek (Cze/Lidl-Trek) +14secs

4. Brandon McNulty (US/UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +21secs

5. Juan Ayuso (Spa/UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +25secs

6. Isaac del Toro (Mex/UAE Team Emirates-XRG) +26secs

7. Max Poole (GB/Team Picnic PostNL) +33secs

8. Antonio Tiberi (Ita/Bahrain Victorious) +34secs

9. Michael Storer (Aus/Tudor Pro-cycling Team) +36secs

10. Giulio Pellizzari (Ita/Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) +40secs