Giro d'Italia stage 3 preview - The sprinters are ready to strike again

The third stage of the Giro d’Italia takes the peloton from Plovdiv to the Bulgarian capital of Sofia. On paper, it is largely a flat day, with one steady mid-stage climb providing the main obstacle.

Key information:

• Start: 12:15 (CET)
• Estimated Finish: 16:20 (CET)
• Stage type: flat
• Stage length: 175.28km
• Elevation gain: 1398m

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Stage 3 of the Giro d’Italia opens gently, with flat roads giving the peloton time to settle into the day. Gradually, however, the road begins to rise, first almost imperceptibly on false flat terrain of around 2 to 3 percent.

The first real test comes with 79 kilometres remaining, when the route reaches the second category Borovets Pass. At 7.1 kilometres in length and an average gradient of 5.9 percent, it is not the longest climb of the race, but it should be enough to shake up the rhythm and test the legs.

Once over the top, the course becomes more forgiving again. From there, the riders head towards what looks set to be another fast finale, with a long, straight road leading them into the finish, much like on stage 1.

The final 600 metres rise slightly at around 2 percent, a subtle but important sting in the tail. Launching the sprint too early could prove costly, especially with fatigue already in the legs.

There is one more complication. The last 150 metres appear to be laid with flat cobblestones, adding an extra layer of unpredictability to the run-in. Positioning, timing and bike handling will all matter when the fight for the stage win begins.

Key points

• Intermediate sprint - 89.2km to go
• Borovets pass | 2nd category climb - 7.1km at 5.9% - 71.8km to go
• Red Bull km (bonification sprint) - 13km to go

The mid-stage climb should not be hard enough to rule out the sprinters. Even those who struggle more on the climbs will look at the profile and believe they can survive, especially with plenty of road left afterwards to return to the peloton if they are briefly distanced.

That makes a breakaway victory less likely. The sprint teams have enough reason to take responsibility, and with several fast men still looking for their first win of the race, the chase should be organised.

Still, this is not a straightforward stage 1-style sprint. The climb will add fatigue, and the finale is more demanding than a pure drag race to the line. The final road rises at around 2 to 3 percent and is paved, meaning timing, strength and positioning will matter just as much as raw speed.

That should favour the more powerful sprinters. Riders such as Jonathan Milan, Paul Magnier and Tobias Lund Andresen all combine a fast finish with the engine to cope with a slightly tougher day. On this terrain, pure speed alone may not be enough.

Jonathan Milan missed out in the opening sprint in Burgas, but the Italian has one more opportunity to strike in Bulgaria before the Giro heads to Italy. As a four-time Giro stage winner and the reigning Tour de France points classification winner, Milan is one of the most proven sprinters in the race.

The finish in Sofia should suit him well. It is not completely flat, but that may only play further into his hands. Milan has the power to handle a long, grinding sprint and will be targeting a fifth Giro d’Italia stage win on Sunday.

Paul Magnier, however, has already shown that he is more than ready for this race. The Soudal Quick-Step rider won the opening stage with an explosive sprint and will start again as one of the major favourites.

The Frenchman often becomes harder to stop once he finds momentum, as he showed in the final part of 2025. With the confidence of a first Grand Tour stage win already secured, Magnier now has the chance to double up and strengthen his position as the fastest man of this Giro.

Tobias Lund Andresen came within touching distance of his first Grand Tour stage victory on stage 1, only to be edged out by Magnier. The Decathlon CMA CGM sprinter has been one of the form riders of 2026, and another opportunity should come quickly. On a finish that demands both speed and strength, the Dane again looks like a serious contender.

Madis Mihkels (EF Education-EasyPost) also made a strong impression in the opening sprint. This type of stage should suit the EF Education EasyPost rider even better, with fatigue and a slightly heavier finish helping to separate the stronger sprinters from the pure speed specialists.

Another rider still knocking on the door of a Grand Tour stage win is Ethan Vernon. The NSN sprinter finished third on the opening stage and has already won four times this season, including WorldTour victories in Australia and Catalunya. If the final becomes messy or selective, he has the speed to take advantage.

After missing the chance to sprint on stage 1, Casper van Uden will be eager to make up for it in Sofia. Team Picnic PostNL will hope to position him better this time, with another bunch finish still the most likely outcome.

Harder to judge is Arnaud De Lie (Lotto-Intermarché). The former Belgian champion was dealing with illness ahead of the race, leaving some uncertainty around his exact level. If he is close to his best, the uphill drag to the line could suit him well, but for now he remains something of a wildcard.

There are also doubts around several riders who were caught up in the stage 1 crash. Dylan Groenewegen (Unibet Rose Rockets), Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Premier Tech), and Erlend Blikra (Uno-X Mobility) were among the bigger names involved. At full strength, all three would have the speed to fight for victory, but it remains to be seen how much the crash has taken out of them.

Matteo Malucelli (XDS Astana Team) came through the opening stage crash relatively well, which could move him up the sprint hierarchy for this stage. The XDS Astana rider has a big top speed on a flatter finish, and with some rivals carrying knocks, he may sense a chance to reach a strong result.

Ben Turner (Netcompany Ineos) does not have the same outright speed as some of the pure sprinters, but he climbs better than most of them. That makes the mid-stage climb less of a problem for him, and if the finale becomes more attritional, the Netcompany INEOS rider could benefit.

Other names to watch include Orluis Aular (Movistar), Pascal Ackermann (Jayco AlUla), and Giovanni Lonardi (Polti VisitMalta), all of whom could move into contention if the sprint becomes disrupted or the favourites are not perfectly positioned.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐  Milan

⭐⭐⭐⭐  Magnier, Lund Andresen

⭐⭐⭐  Mihkels, Vernon, Van Uden

⭐⭐  Groves, De Lie, Malucelli, Turner

⭐  Aular, Groenewegen, Ackermann, Blikra, Lonardi