Cycling – the 101st Giro d’Italia cycling race – The 229-km Stage 3 from Beersheba to Eilat, Israel – May 6, 2018 – Team Quick-Step rider Elia Viviani of Italy reacts as he wins the 3rd stage in Eilat, Israel. REUTERS/Nir Keidar
May 6, 2018
(Reuters) – Elia Viviani, of Quick-Step Floors, sealed his second consecutive Giro d’Italia stage win as the Italian was the fastest in a bunch sprint finish in the third stage on Sunday.
Sam Bennett, of Bora-Hansgrohe, was in the lead with a kilometre to go but Viviani showcased his impressive power once again to close in on the Irishman before the final corner and crossed the finish line first.
Viviani, who won the second stage after a similar comeback on Saturday, finished ahead of Sacha Modolo (Cannondale-Drapac) and Bennett had to settle for third.
Jakub Mareczko (Wilier Triestina-Selle Italia) and Danny van Poppel (Lotto NL – Jumbo) rounded out the top five.
Israel Cycling Academy’s Guillaume Boivin was cheered on by the home crowd as the Canadian, along with Marco Frapporti (Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec) and Enrico Barbin (Bardiani-CSF), led the race from the start.
The trio were swept up by the peloton in the closing stages and finished well behind the top 10 in the last stage to be held in Israel.
Australian BMC Racing Team rider Rohan Dennis retained the overall leader’s pink jersey, while Barbin held on to the blue jersey after he was second-fastest to the summit of the Cat 4 climb.
(Reporting by Aditi Prakash in Bengaluru, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
