CANALE, Italy (AP) — Breakaway rider Taco van der Hoorn narrowly held off the chasing pack to win the third stage of the Giro d’Italia, while Filippo Ganna held onto the pink jersey.
Van der Hoorn, a Dutch rider, was the last remaining member of an early breakaway in the 190-kilometer (118-mile) route from Biella to Canale, which featured three categorized climbs. He managed to finish four seconds in front of the main pack.
Davide Cimolai crossed second, four seconds behind, and Peter Sagan was third with the same time.
Ganna, who won the time trial that opened the race, is 16 seconds ahead of Tobias Foss in the overall standings. Remco Evenepoel is third, 20 seconds back.
"I can’t believe it,” Van der Hoorn said. "I just wanted to be aggressive for the whole Giro. I knew it would be a very difficult to win a stage. I took my chance but I didn’t believe we’d make it with a one-minute lead going into the finale.”
Another hilly route awaits in Stage 4, a 187-kilometer (116-mile) route from Piacenza to Sestola.
"We have seen a lot of sprinters being dropped in the climbs, there were not a lot of riders in the main group at the end, up the hill. I saw that Remco had fantastic legs,” Ganna said. "It will be hard for me to defend the pink jersey tomorrow.”