Mads Pedersen and Lidl-Trek completed a perfect tactic plan on the road to Valona, with the Dane winning the sprint and retaking the maglia rosa after his teammates controlled the attacks and led the chase all day on the final stage in Albania.
Pedersen started his sprint early, Corbin Strong (Israel-Premier Tech) was on his wheel and came up alongside him but could not match the Dane's finishing speed. Orluis Aular (Movistar) was again in the thick of the sprint, taking third.
Pedersen took a ten-second time bonus and so took back the maglia rosa from Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe). The Slovenian finished safely in the peloton and is now second overall, at nine seconds. Pedersen's teammate Mathias Vacek is third overall at 14 seconds.
Pedersen will wear the maglia rosa on Tuesday for stage 4 from Alberobello to Lecce when the Giro d'Italia resumes in Puglia after a day of travel from Albania to Italy on Monday.
Pedersen now has 52 career victories, apparently making him the most successful pro rider in the history of Danish cycling.
"Having two victories and now back in the pink jersey is exactly what we wanted today. This was the plan this morning," Pedersen explained.
"We wanted to put a good pace on the long climb, to control it for ourselves and give me a chance to breathe there so I didn't need to go over the limit.
"Everyone from the team did a super amazing job on the climb and before. From the climb, it was about controlling as far as we could and then it would be a drag race. It was exactly as we wanted it with Ciccone and Vacek giving me an amazing lead out.
"Ciccone has ambitions somewhere else in the race but he was there to help me, that shows his character. He committed to the team and to helping me. It shows what we can do at Lidl-Trek. I can't wait to get to the mountains and give something back to Cicco."
Stage winner Mads Pedersen celebrates with Lidl-Trek teammate Mathias Vacek who gave him a great leadout (Image credit: Getty Images)
The pack rides past a shepherd and his herd(Image credit: Getty Images)
Overnight race leader Primož Roglič is surrounded by his Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe teammates(Image credit: Getty Images)
Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) and Lorenzo Fortunato (XDS Astana) in the breakaway (Image credit: Getty Images)
The sun was out in Valona for the 160km third stage, with riders facing a long loop into the Albania hills before a fast finish back in the holiday resort in the south of Albania.
Valona is just across the Adriatic Sea from Puglia in southern Italy, where the riders headed post stage by plane for the first rest day/travel day of the 2025 Corsa Rosa.
Roglič looked resplendent in magia rosa but the Slovenian was keen to let someone else take the leader's jersey and all the extra responsibilities that come with it.
Pedersen was the most likely candidate but the rest of the peloton sensed Roglič's desire and the attacks came fast and furious in the opening kilometres, as riders tried to join the right break of the day.
Luke Plapp (Jayco-AlUla) made an early move and Tom Pidcock (Q36.5) sneaked into a split as the peloton lined out on the valley road south of Valona.
After a high-speed 20 minutes, a break was finally allowed some freedom. Stage 2 winner Josh Tarling (Ineos Grenadiers), Mark Donovan (Q36.5), Lorenzo Germani (Groupama-FDJ) and Chris Hamilton (Picnic-PostNL) were there. Alessandro Tonelli (Polti-VisitMalta) and Dries De Bondt (Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale) set off in pursuit just before the peloton closed down other other surges and then eased up, closing down the road.
Stage 2 winner Josh Tarling (Ineos Grenadiers) sets the pace in the breakaway (Image credit: Getty Images)
The sextet had their chance, with Tarling the best placed rider in the GC at 1:34. The young Welsh rider became the virtual race leader but the peloton kept them under control.
Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe accepted their race leader responsibilities and led the peloton, with Jacopo Mosca (Lidl-Trek) often helping Gianni Moscon and Nico Denz with the work on the front. They pinned the gap to below 3:00.
Tonelli won the intermediate sprint in Gjorm after 34km and the stage steadied. The late climb and chase to the finish would be the decisive moment of the day. A rush of adrenaline came mid-stage when a goal ran into the road and almost took out Dion Smith (Intermarche-Wanty). He used his bike skills to avoid it.
Donovan was the first over the Shakelles climb after 65km as the breakaways shared the glory and the prizes. The terrain was now very barren and constantly rolling in the hills.
De Bondt and the breakaways rolled through the Red Bull KM in Himarë with 88km raced and 71km to go but at least this time, the six, four and two bonus seconds would have little impact on the race.
The country roads sparked several punctures, with Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) forced to take a teammate's bike for a while but he was soon back into the peloton. De Bondt also suffered a puncture and so was dropped from the break near the Gjilekë intermediate sprint with 52km to race.
The rolling roads had hurt many in the peloton and the break, with a number of sprinters forced to chase. It was a sign of things to come on the category 2, 10.5km long Qafa e Llogarasë climb.
The Qafa e Llogarasë climbed high into the Albanian mountains, with a 9.6% section after three kilometres and then an average gradient of 7.4%.
The climb began after 110km, with 50km to go. Pedersen was there and looked good but others were suffering. Lidl-Trek took control of the peloton with poise and clam, Daan Hoole leading the peloton at the start the Qafa e Llogarasë climb.
Lidl-Trek’s Jacopo Mosca leads the peloton, keeping the break in check (Image credit: Getty Images)
The pace was soon high and hurting and Wout Van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike) was soon dropped from the peloton, as were others. The break also fell apart as the peloton closed the gap to less than a minute. Tarling was dropped after a second day in the spotlight and second impressive performance.
Lorenzo Fortunato (XDS-Astana) and Pello Bilbao (Bahrain Victorious) attacked from the peloton in a clever move to try to win the stage. They soon joined Hamilton and Tonelli at the front of the race with Germani just off the back and Donovan left behind.
Hamilton was the last man from the original break to stay with Fortunato and Bilbao as they neared the summit. Behind Lidl-Trek continued to carefully pace the peloton, with Tom Pidcock playfully surging on the front to see the effects. Fortunato was first to the summit of the Qafa e Llogarasë ahead of Bilbao, to ensure he would pull on the Maglia Azzurra points jersey.
The two were just 50 seconds ahead of the peloton, as the GC riders massed on the front for the descent. Only 50 or so riders were left in the peloton but Pedersen was there.
The descent led down into the valley through the mist but the roads were wide and smooth. With 30km to go, Fortunato and Bilbao had a gap of 45 seconds but the peloton and especially Lidl-Trek were hunting them down on the road to Valona. On the fast valley run to the finish, some sprinters managed to get back on, including Martin Marcellusi (VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizane), swelling the front group to 80 or so riders.
Lidl-Trek eventually swept up Fortunato and Bilbao with 18km to race and suddenly the sprint was on. Pedersen would need to finish in the top three to take back the pink jersey thanks to the time bonuses.
Bahrain Victorious took control of the peloton in the final ten kilometres, leading along the coast road as if racing Milan-San Remo. All the GC teams wanted to keep their leaders safe until the final three kilometres, where times would be taken in case of a subsequent crash.
Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe also rode carefully to keep Roglič upfront and safe on the single lane seafront road. There was a fight for position and the best wheels but without any excess risk or danger. The worst moment was when a dog ran across the road just in front of the riders.
Lidl-Trek led out the sprint with Giulio Ciccone leading the way, a climber and the team's GC leader also committed to Pedersen's success. Mathias Vacek was behind him with everyone else fighting for the wheels in their slipstream.
Vacek gradually wound-up his leadout, his hands wider on the levers. Nobody went early and so Pedersen hit out from the front, convinced of his speed and seeing victory and the maglia rosa ahead of him.
Strong came up late but Pedersen was in charge, just as he and Lidl-Trek had been all day. Their reward was a second stage win and the maglia rosa back on Pedersen's shoulders.
Peloton in full-flight for the bunch sprint (Image credit: Getty Images)
Stephen is one of the most experienced member of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. He has been Head of News at Cyclingnews since 2022, before which he held the position of European editor since 2012 and previously worked for Reuters, Shift Active Media, and CyclingWeekly, among other publications.
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