Cycling: Elia Viviani (Quick-Step Floors) once again lived up to his role as favorite. The Italian won after the yesterday's stage also today's part of the Giro d'Italia. In the mass sprint he didn't give Sacha Modolo (EF Education) and Sam Bennett (Bora-hansgrohe) a chance.
Barbin defends his mountain jersey
The third stage took the riders 229 kilometers from Be'er Sheva to Eilat. With Enrico Barbin (Bardiani-CSF), Marco Frapporti (Androni Giocattoli) and Guillaume Boivin (Israel Cycling Academy), three riders pulled away by more than seven minutes. Although Frapporti won the only mountain classification of the day at the Faran River, Barbin defended his mountain jersey with his second place. The two sprint classifications, on the other hand, went to Boivin, who clearly stood out as the fastest man of the trio. However, they didn't have a chance of getting through successfully because the sprinter teams were attentive and knew how to reduce the lead early on. The trio was left to starve at the outstretched arm for the last 50 kilometers before they were finally caught up in a controlled manner.
Viviani is piloted perfectly by his colleagues
Before the trio finally caught up, the Quick-Step Floors team used the strong wind for a wind relay. Some drivers immediately had problems following the high speed. Among others, Victor Campenaerts (Lotto Fix All) was distanced, but he was able to reestablish contact. Despite the weak profile, there were a few obstacles to overcome in the last kilometers. In the final 6.000 meters there were no fewer than nine roundabouts and many not-so-simple corners. But the Quick-Step Floors team had no problem with that. On the contrary: Captain Elia Viviani was piloted through the streets in an exemplary manner, so that there were even occasional gaps in the field behind him. Sam Bennett (Bora-hansgrohe) then opened the sprint – but he was again far too early in the wind. So it was no problem for Elia Viviani (Quick-Step Floors) to pass, although Bennett had gone suspiciously far to the right. Second place went to Sacha Modolo (EF Education) in the final meters.
The sprint van vandaag… het was he éen van op het randje van oa Bennett… maar Viviani pakt de bloemen.. #twist101 pic.twitter.com/mKEyLuq3sm
— Ton Heijstek (@TonHeijstek1) 6 May 2018
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