'It's hard to tell Tadej to be conservative' – Pogačar begins defence of Giro d'Italia lead on attacking note

Tadej Pogacar in the lead of the Giro d'Italia after stage 3
Tadej Pogacar in the lead of the Giro d'Italia after stage 3 (Image credit: Getty Images)

It had been, by just about every metric, a quiet day at the Giro d'Italia. For the first two hours of stage 3, there was scarcely an attack worthy of the name, and not even the accidental breakaway of sprinters shortly after the midpoint had raised much of a stir on a subdued afternoon in Piedmont.

The quiet even extended to the RAI television commentary team, who joined a 24-hour strike by journalists at the state broadcaster on Monday. The industrial action was called in the wake of the recent censorship of the writer Antonio Scurati, whose planned anti-fascist monologue for the Festa della Liberazione public holiday last month was abruptly pulled from the schedule, apparently amid pressure from the far-right government of Giorgia Meloni.

Barry Ryan
Head of Features

Barry Ryan was Head of Features at Cyclingnews. He has covered professional cycling since 2010, reporting from the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and events from Argentina to Japan. His writing has appeared in The Independent, Procycling and Cycling Plus. He is the author of The Ascent: Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche and the Rise of Irish Cycling’s Golden Generation, published by Gill Books.