Mads Pedersen reclaims Giro d'Italia pink jersey with stage three sprint win
Mads Pedersen reclaimed the leader's pink jersey with victory in the third stage of the Giro d'Italia as the race bade farewell to Albania.
The Danish rider repeated his first-stage success by holding off Corbin Strong (Israel-Premier Tech) in a sprint finish in Vlorë. Pedersen's Lidl-Trek team controlled the peloton, reeling in an early breakaway that included Britain's stage two winner, Josh Tarling (Ineos Grenadiers).
After helping Pedersen successfully negotiate a climb with 40km to go, Matthias Vacek produced a strong lead-out to send the 29-year-old on his way, while Movistar's Orluis Aular matched his third-placed finish from the opening stage.
Having gone into the day with a one-second deficit to race leader Primoz Roglic (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), the bonus seconds gained were enough to give Pedersen a nine-second advantage over the Slovenian.
'Wow, to have two stage victories already and now back in the pink – that's exactly what we wanted today,' Pedersen said. 'This was the plan from this morning, to put a good pace on the long climb to control it for ourselves and give me a breather.'
'Then from the climb on, it was controlling as far as we could and it was exactly as we wanted – and then [Giulio] Ciccone and Vacek [were] there doing an amazing lead out,' he added.
The race now heads across the Adriatic Sea to Italy, and will resume in Alberobello on Tuesday following a rest day.
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