Giro d'Italia 2016: Stage 3

 Bongiorno and welcome to the Cyclingnews live coverage of stage three of the Giro d'Italia.

Giro d’Italia 2016 hub on Cyclingnews

Giro d’Italia 2016 Preview Podcast

Stage 2 report: Kittel wins the sprint in Nijmegen

Stage 2 video highlights

Dumoulin defines leading Giro d'Italia in Netherlands as a 'dream scenario'

Full Giro d'Italia start list

 Hello and welcome to another sunny day in the Netherlands. 

The third stage of the Giro d'Italia is another for the sprinters because it is totally flat.

@giroditalia Sun, 8th May 2016 09:42:26

@LottoJumbo_road Sun, 8th May 2016 09:52:18

Today's stage starts at 12:40 local time, in about 50 minutes. The riders are already signing on at the start with huge crowds again enjoying the warm weather in the Netherlands.

You can also follow the Giro d'Italia with our Tour Tracker app.

Click here to get the app: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/cyclingnews-tour-tracker/id638270049?mt=8

The third stage covers 190km via a long loop east between Nijmegen and Arnhem. 

We expect another fierce battle between the sprinters, with the added factor that Marcel Kittel could take the pink jersey from Tom Dumoulin if he picks up some bonus seconds by finishing in the top three in the final sprint or in the two intermediate sprints during the stage. 

@giroditalia Sun, 8th May 2016 10:00:11

Kittel is already at the start. He wears the red points jersey today instead of his usual blue Etixx jersey. 

Kittel dominated the sprint in Nijmegen on Saturday.

Click here to read our full stage report and see our huge photo gallery and video highlights. 

@LucaPapini Sun, 8th May 2016 10:03:29

Here's the moment when Kittel won the sprint.

It is good to see that Fabian Cancellara (Trek Segafredo) is at the start and determined to carry on in the Giro despite being hit by a virus on the eve of the race.

@TrekSegafredo Sun, 8th May 2016 10:09:35

30 minute warning! The start is only half an hour away. 

@giroditalia Sun, 8th May 2016 10:10:31

The riders will soon line-up for the start. These are the four special jerseys in the race and will be wearing them. 

Maglia Rosa (pink), General Classification leader: Tom Dumoulin (Team Giant - Alpecin)

Maglia Rossa (red), Sprint Classification leader: Marcel Kittel (Etixx - Quick Step)

Maglia Azzurra (blue), King of the Mountains leader: Omar Fraile (Team Dimension Data)

Maglia Bianca (white), Young Rider Classification: Tobias Ludvigsson (Team Giant - Alpecin).

This is the map of today's stage. As you can see it is a long loop east, with two finishing circuits of 14km in Arnhem.

The profile shows how flat the stage is.

This is the official description of the stage published in the race road book:

This stage closely resembles the previous one: the route runs flat along the plains surrounding the start and finish cities, coming across minor climbs and mild descents, villages, roundabouts and speed bumps. Over the first 25 km, the route winds its way on narrow roads twisting and turning along the banks of River Rhine.

The route tackles the Posbank categorised climb, then a short and technical descent along the roads of the Hoge Weluve National Park leads into the final Arnhem circuit (14.0km), to be covered twice. In this stage as well, wind will be the major challenge along the route.

@WilierSoutheast Sun, 8th May 2016 10:21:00

The riders line up for the start. The race is about to roll out.

It is mothers day in much of Europe and so many riders are sending messages to their mother from the Giro d'Italia. 

@pierbergonzi Sun, 8th May 2016 10:31:17

@Etixx_QuickStep Sun, 8th May 2016 10:35:24

The riders have left the start area and begun the 7km neutralised section.  

@ORICA_GreenEDGE Sun, 8th May 2016 10:37:39

@AstanaTeam Sun, 8th May 2016 10:40:26

The weather is warm and sunny yet again today, with local residents thanking the Giro d'Italia for having brought the Italian spring to the Netherlands. 

@Etixx_QuickStep Sun, 8th May 2016 10:41:39

They're off! The flag has dropped and we already have an attack.

Four riders have jumped away and quickly opened a gap.

@daniellloyd1 Sun, 8th May 2016 10:47:39

Tjallingii and Berlato were both in the break yesterday and are on the attack again today.

It seems that Tjallingii was the first to attack and was then joined by the other three riders. Tjallingii is racing on home roads and proudly flying the flag for Dutch team LottoNL-Jumbo.  

@LottoJumbo_road Sun, 8th May 2016 10:57:05

@Lotto_Soudal Sun, 8th May 2016 10:59:46

The four breakaway riders are working smoothly, increasing their lead on the peloton. 

The break has pushed out their lead to 2:40.

This is a Twitter image of the break of the day.

The huge crowd at the start of stage 3!

We're hearing reports that the break now has a lead of close to 6:00.  

The peloton has let the break go, confident they will sweep them up before the finish.  

@TeamDiData Sun, 8th May 2016 11:18:03

Kristian Sbaragli (Dimension Data) celebrates his 26th birthday. He won a sprint stage at the Vuelta last year. Can he perhaps win again and give himself a special present? 

The riders have covered 40km and the break leads by 5:10.

@pierbergonzi Sun, 8th May 2016 11:25:21

155km remaining from 190km

With 45km covered, the riders are half way to the first sprint of the day, with the feed zone coming just before it  

@LottoJumbo_road Sun, 8th May 2016 11:33:43

The break now has a lead of 7:45.

The peloton is taking it easy in the sun. Again there is no wind today and so no risks of echelons or splits in the peloton. 

While the riders push on during the first part of the stage, why not enjoy some of our content on Cyclingnews.

Danilo Di Luca has been banned for life after testing positive twice in his career. He has now written a hard-hitting book talking about his career, his doping. 

In an exclusive interview, he told Cyclingnews it his way of calling on his former fellow riders to change the current status quo.

Click here to read it. Lets us know via our Facebook page what you think of Di Luca and his book.   

@Etixx_QuickStep Sun, 8th May 2016 11:47:20

The Giant-Alpecin and Etixx teams are leading the chase at the head of the peloton.

@MeridaProRoad Sun, 8th May 2016 11:58:02

You can also follow the Giro d'Italia with our Tour Tracker app.

Click here to get the app: 

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/cyclingnews-tour-tracker/id638270049?mt=8

@ORICA_GreenEDGE Sun, 8th May 2016 12:02:57

At the finish there is slightly more wind that at the start with some reports that it cause some problems in the final five kilometres of the stage.

122km remaining from 190km

The gap is up to 8:10.

@giroditalia Sun, 8th May 2016 12:21:27

It seems that the peloton is upping the chase of the break.

From the Cyclingnews blimp we can see that the break head used as two of the four took a natural break.  

@Ride_Argyle Sun, 8th May 2016 12:25:06

There are reports that the wind in the finale could blow at 25km/h, that's enough to spark echelons.

The break is riding in a line across the road, indicating there is some wind blowing from the right.

The riders will reach Borculo after 86km and then turn back on different roads towards Arnhem.

No one team has taken up the chase today, with Giant-Alpecin letting other teams take up the responsibility to control the break. 

The race is twisting through Borculo with huge crowds cheering them along. 

Crash!

Jean Christophe Peraud (AG2R) has gone down hard.

AG2R was near the front of the pack but hit a kerb.

Peraud is standing but in pain. 

He landed on his face and cut his eye. His face is covered in blood.

Sadly his injuries mean he has to it the Giro.  

He is being treated on the ambulance.  

His teammates have already returned to the peloton and so it seems unlikely he will try to chase after treatment.

Replays show that Peraud's teammate crashed in font of him on the roundabout and Peraud went down hard on his face after touching wheels.

@cyclingreporter Sun, 8th May 2016 12:52:34

The peloton is in the feed zone and taking their musettes from their teams. It's lunch time. 

Tom Dumoluin (Giant-Alpecin) is sat quietly in the peloton. He has touches of pink on his shorts and pink bar tape to match his pink leader's jersey.

It's time for the first intermediate sprint! 

Meanwhile race officials have confirmed that Peraud (Ag2R) is out of the Giro after his crash.

There is no sprint but Tjallingii crosses the line first.

The peloton is filling the road, forcing the many spectators to move quickly out of the way.

@katushacycling Sun, 8th May 2016 13:03:02

85km remaining from 190km

The peloton has eased slightly but is keeping the break under control. 

@giroditalia Sun, 8th May 2016 13:07:54

80km remaining from 190km

up front the four breakaway riders are still working smoothly together.

It looks like we have some crosswinds out there! 

The pace is high and there are a lot of frantic faces out there. It's splitting up now. 

Lots of riders forced into the gutter here as three or four echelons form behind the main bunch, which is only disappearing into the distance. 

Crash. Jay Thomson (DImension Data) hits the deck, as does Bardiani's Mirco Maestri. Both are unharmed but face a difficult chase back on. 

A shot of the impact of the wind here from Sporza. 

We have another hold-up as the riders come through a narrow street in a small town. Svein Tuft has a problem with his bike. 

Lotto Soudal are hammering it at the front of the bunch with three men. Behind them it's Tinkoff. The wind doesn't seem as sever at this current moment but the peloton is strung out single file.

62km remaining from 190km

The frantic action in the bunch is causing the breakaway's lead to diminish. They now have just three minutes. 

Most of the riders dropped in the crosswinds have collected into a group that is now chasing at over 30 seconds behind the main bunch. 

We're awaiting confirmation on who has been caught behind, but race leader Tom Dumoulin and stage 2 winner Marcel Kittel are both in the front group. 

The pace eases at the head of the peloton, and that chase group, after an almighty effort, has rejoined. 

This is the sort of thing we expected/hoped for from these opening two Dutch road stages. We never got it yesterday, a calm an uneventful day in which the wind was never really a factor. 

The riders have turned to the right for a tailwind, though they'll be turning left again very soon, where the wind should come across once again as they make their way into Arnhem.

Here's the story on Péraud's crash and abandon.

France’s Jean-Christophe Peraud crashes out of Giro d’Italia

We're coming up to the only KOM point on today's stage, a short uphill effort at Posbank. 

And it's Tjallingii who opens it up and gets a big gap. Amezqueta tries to follow.

Tjallingii is the new King of the Mountains

The 38-year-old holds his lead to the top and, after picking up points int he break yesterday, has now moved to the top of the mountains classification. He'll take the blue jersey off the shoulders of Omar Fraile. 

The breakaway's lead ducks down below the 2-minute mark now as Cannondale make their presence felt on the front. 

@inrng Sun, 8th May 2016 13:56:42

Arnaud Demare has been held up as the road kicks uphill once more.

Two FDJ men have dropped back to help Demare. No team car in sight...

Demare gets back on but the pace has picked up once again in the bunch as we make that left-hand turn. 

The pace is high now as Cannondale continue to drive the bunch. The gap to the break is holding steady at around 2 minutes for now. 

35km remaining from 190km

 The break is only 1:40 ahead of the peloton now. 

The break is heading into Arnhem for the two final circuits of 14km.

The gap is up to 2:10 as the four attackers try to fight the peloton. 

The riders are already on the circuit and can see hat they face in the finale today. 

Everyone is expecting a sprint finish today. 

28km remaining from 190km

The break is at the finish area, with 28km to go.

They get to see the sweeping finish area, but the curve means its impossible to see the finish line until 75m to go.  

@Lotto_Soudal Sun, 8th May 2016 14:26:20

The crowds are huge again today.

The teams are lined out together in the peloton as they pass through the finish. Trek, Cannondale, Movistar and IAM are on the front.

Some of the sprinters' team have to step up and lead the chase if they want to contest the sprint finish.

At the rear of the peloton, Adam Hansen (Lotto Soudal) is getting some treatment from the race doctor after being caught up in the crash. 

The Etixx team has now picked up the chase but the four breakaways are going hard in a move to try to surprise the peloton.

@Etixx_QuickStep Sun, 8th May 2016 14:32:14

IAM is helping with the chase. They will have to work hard otherwise the break will stay away.

@ORICA_GreenEDGE Sun, 8th May 2016 14:36:03

The GC team leaders are also up front to avoid any crashes and splits.

The twisting finishing circuit and road furniture means it is not easy for the peloton to pull back time. 

18km remaining from 190km

The gap is still 2:00.

Tjallingii is doing lots of work to try to stay away.

The side wind is also causing problems for the peloton. There are splits in the line.

@LottoJumbo_road Sun, 8th May 2016 14:41:52

The peloton is split into three groups.

Joe Dombrowski (Cannondale) is in the back group after doing a lot of work for Uran at the front.

14km remaining from 190km

The break reaches the finish and hears the bell for one lap to go. Can they stay away?

The four lead the peloton by 1:11 and could stay away. 

Crash!

Several FDJ riders go down.

Silvian Diller (BMC) is holding his wrist.

up front Johann Van Zyl (Dimension Data) has jumped away alone.

Van Zyl is tucked over his bars as he tries to stay away. He leads the peloton by 50 seconds, with the three other riders in the middle.

The peloton seems to have eased up after the crash.

The sprinters seem to have lost several teammates in the confusion.

8km remaining from 190km

Tjallingii is about to be caught but the peloton is still 55 seconds behind Van Zyl.

The peloton has picked up the speed but it could be too late to catch Van Zyl. 

Another crash! Two Giant riders go down, including Arndt, their sprinter.

Van Zyl is on the highway bridge and kicks out of the saddle. He's been away for 185km. Can he stay away and win the stage? He has a great chance. 

The peloton seems to have lost their hunger to catch Van Zyl. 

3km remaining from 190km

The peloton can see him on a straight road but there is only 3km to go. Etixx is now on the front but where is Kittel? 

The long straight roads could be fatal for Van Zyl. The gap is down to 15 seconds.  

This a brave effort but we are going to see a sprint finish very soon.

1km remaining from 190km

A great try by Van Zyl but he is swept up by the high-speed bunch.

Kittel is in red today and has worked his way up to his three-rider lead out. 

1km remaining from 190km

Last Kilometre!

Other teams are trying to move up for the sprint.

Etixx lead it out. 

Kittel hits out from the front and wins again!  

Viviani managed to get on his wheel but could not match the Germans speed. 

Kittel celebrates with his teammates and especially last man Fabio Sabatini. 

Thanks to the time bonus, Kittel is the new race leader and so will pull on the maglia rosa and take it to Italy on Monday's travel/rest day.

Italy's Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek) took third place in the sprint after fighting for Kittel's wheel with Viviani.

Kittel won the sprint with his power and late acceleration. 

The new GC shows Kittel leads Dumoulin by 9 seconds, with Amador at 15 seconds. It seems that Roglic slipped down the GC today after losing time. 

Marcel Kittel wanted to share his success with his Etixx teammates.

“I’m very happy and at first I didn’t realise I’d also taken pink. I’m super proud of this amazing team," he said.

"The boys worked so hard to bring the break back. I think we had team of the day. It’s great to win a second stage. Now we’ve got some work to defend the pink jersey when we get to Italy but it’s the best thing that could happen to us.”

I have a great team and two super strong pilots in Matteo Trentin and Fabio Sabatini. They did a great job to put me in position, while the other guys kept us out of the wind all day. Without all of them, the win would not be possible.”

Kittel also made history today.

@giroditalia Sun, 8th May 2016 15:13:08

@giroditalia Sun, 8th May 2016 15:15:20

@PatLefevere Sun, 8th May 2016 15:09:25

Kittel enjoys his moment on the podium, celebrating his stage win and pulling on the pink jersey.

@Etixx_QuickStep Sun, 8th May 2016 15:15:10

Kittel had a difficult 2015 season but seems back to his very best now. 

He wore yellow at the Tour de France but this is the first time he pulls on the pink jersey.  

Kittel also pulls on the red points jersey.  

Kittel has 106 points, he leads local hero and double attacker Martin Tjallingii (LootoNL-Jumbo), who has 80 points.

Tjallingii is also on the podium and pulls on the blue climbers jersey. He gets a bigger cheer than Kittel. 

@giroditalia Sun, 8th May 2016 15:21:56

Here's the first image of Marcel Kittel (Etixx-QuickStep) in pink.

Martin Tjallingi (LottoNL-Jumbo) was rightly proud to have taken the blue climbers' jersey by going on the attack again.

“It was my home crowd out there today and they cheered for me so hard that I couldn’t feel my legs. I wanted to do something in the Netherlands before the real climbs begin in Italy and it worked out, even if I had to fight for it and suffer.

@LottoJumbo_road Sun, 8th May 2016 15:30:33

@giroditalia Sun, 8th May 2016 15:30:30

 We have other photos from the finish of today's stage, including this great winning image of Kittel in the red points jersey.

@Etixx_QuickStep Sun, 8th May 2016 15:39:32

@Etixx_QuickStep Sun, 8th May 2016 15:46:31

Matteo Trentin (Etixx-QuickStep) was proud to have helped Kittle win again.

“It went perfectly for us today. All the team worked, including the climbers, who did the early work, even on the flat. Then in the finale we took over I think me and Fabio Sabatini did our part, finishing off the work of the team,” he said on Italian TV.

“Now we’ve got to win a stage in Italy, where Marcel has never won. It’s never easy in the south of Italy because the roads are never flat even if the maps look flat. It’s been a great start to the Giro d’Italia so far, with the early stage relatively easy. I think it’s going to be a great Giro going forward from here when we get to Italy.

Not everyone enjoyed a successful day on stage 3. 

@Movistar_Team Sun, 8th May 2016 15:50:29

Marcel Kittel has now won 13 Grand Tour stages during his career and four stages at the Giro d'Italia, However he has yet to win on Italian soil after winning two stages in Ireland and two in the Netherlands.

He will try to win again on stage four from Catanzaro to Praia a Mare on the Calabrian coast but the finale of the 200km stage includes a series of climbs. He cold lose the pink jersey very quickly. 

This Giro d'Italia has not gone to plan for Fabian Cancellara. He was ill before the opening time trial and lost time on both road stages.

To learn more about his problems and disappointment, click here. 

We couldn't agree more. Officials figures said 250,000 saw the race on Saturday, with perhaps even more today.  

@theboz91 Sun, 8th May 2016 16:10:21

@f_cancellara Sun, 8th May 2016 16:11:41

Most riders enjoyed three quiet days in the Netherlands but there were also some crash victims. 

The biggest was French veteran Jean-Christophe Peraud (AG2R) who was riding his first ever Giro. Sadly he crashed out and cut his head in a banal crash on a roundabout, when his teammate's pedal hit the road and then Peraud crashed into him. 

Read more here about his early retirement from the Giro.

This was Peraud injury.

Following the third stage in the Netherlands, these are the jersey wearers/classification leaders for stage four in Italy on Tuesday:

Maglia Rosa (pink), General Classification, sponsored by Enel - Marcel Kittel (Etixx - Quick-Step)

Maglia Rossa (red), Sprints Classification, sponsored by Algida - Marcel Kittel (Etixx - Quick-Step)

Maglia Azzurra (blue), King of the Mountains Classification, sponsored by Banca Mediolanum - Maarten Tjallingii (Team Lotto NL - Jumbo)

Maglia Bianca (white), Young Rider Classification, sponsored by Eurospin - Tobias Ludvigsson (Team Giant - Alpecin)

Medical updates and team information has confirmed that Silvan Dillier (BMC) crash out with around 12 kilometres to go. He seemed to hurt his wrist in the crash that involved several riders.

That means 196 riders should start the stage four of the Giro in Catanzaro on Tuesday.

Rick Zabel (BMC) showed some of his father speed in the sprint, finishing ninth today.

“I felt good today and I feel strong in general. It’s my first top ten in a Grand Tour so I’m really happy about it. My goal coming into the Giro d’Italia was to be in the top ten on a stage and I’ve already achieved it on the second road stage so I’m really happy with this result. I hope the rest of the Giro d’Italia will continue like this,” he said via BMC.

“There was a big crash with 12 kilometers to go and I was one of the last riders to come around. I stayed behind and I waited a bit and then in the last five kilometers Manuel Quinziato did a good job to bring me up to front. I know I am not as fast as Marcel Kittel and Andre Greipel but I’m still happy that I can be up there with the fastest guys.”

Thanks for joining us for full live coverage of stage 3 of the Giro d'Italia. 

For a full stage report, photo gallery and video highlights, click here.

We have other exclusive news and interviews on Cyclingnews from the Giro d'Italia with more to come.

The riders and the media travel to Italy tomorrow on the first rest day of this year's race. We'll have further live coverage on Tuesday on stage 4 from Catanzaro to Praia a Mare on the Calabrian coast.

Grazie Mille!