2025 Giro d'Italia stage 3 preview: Will the maglia rosa change hands again?

The opening two stages of the 2025 Giro d’Italia produced two different wearers of the maglia rosa—Stage 1 winner Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) and Stage 2 runner-up Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe). Heading into the third and final stage in Albania, just one second separates the two riders in the general classification topped by Roglič.

Stage 3, a 160-kilometre loop beginning and ending in Vlorë (Valona), mirrors the length of Stage 1 but features a pair of climbs, presenting a chance for Roglič, who often prefers not to defend the leader’s jersey too early, and the pressures that come with it, to hand it off, perhaps to a sprinter or even back to Pedersen. With time bonuses available at the mid-stage Red Bull kilometre and the finish line, the Danish rider will be targeting a return to the top spot.

Though surprised by his time trial result, Roglič, the 2023 Giro winner, admitted that taking the maglia rosa “doesn’t change the plan overall much.”

“The plan is to have it on while arriving in Rome and I guess for tomorrow is a good stage again for him [Pedersen], so we will see what will happen. Probably they will take it back.”

Pedersen is not hiding that he will try to gain the maglia rosa back.

“We’re still within the reach of gaining back the jersey,” the Dane told the media after stage 2, “and we will absolutely do our best as a team to get the jersey back.”

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Starting and ending in Vlorë (Valona), the hilly route is essentially a loop around the Maja Qores, which rises to over 2,000 metres near the Adriatic coast. After the start, the riders will head southeast along the Lumi Shushicës valley on a constant uphill leading to category 4 Qafa Shakellës pass, cresting at the 65km mark. A quick descent to the sea is followed by roughly 40 kilometres on rolling, twisty roads along the coast.

The Red Bull kilometre, with three, two, and one time bonus seconds, comes with 71km to go. If the peloton is still together, expect the Lidl-Trek team to launch Pedersen to nab those seconds.

The final major obstacle is the ascent of Qafa e Llogarasë, an 11 km cat. 2 climb with gradients exceeding 7%, which comes within the final 39 km. A flat final 25 km could allow any chasing groups a chance to reel in late attackers before the finish in Vlorë.

Depending on how the climb is tackled, it could open opportunities for a breakaway, a long-range attack, or even set the stage for another sprint finish.

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Climbs

• Q. Shakellēs (cat. 4), km. 65.4
• Qafa Llogarasē (cat. 2), km 121.6 (10.7km, avg. 7.4%, max 12%)

Sprints

• Sprint 1 - Gjorm, km. 34.5
• Time bonus sprint - Himarë, km. 88.2
• Sprint 2 - Gjilekë, km. 107.1