Veteran Mark Cavendish won stage three of the Giro d’Italia yesterday after launching a long sprint for the line at the end of a flat 201km run to Lake Balaton in Hungary.
Dutch ace Mathieu van der Poel retained the overall leader’s pink jersey as Quick-Step’s Cavendish easily outpaced FDJ’s Arnaud Demare with Team UAE’s Fernando Gaviria coming third.
It was a 16th stage win on the Giro for the 36-year-old Cavendish who is riding the Italian grand tour after a nine-year break.
“It’s never easy to win the first stage of a grand tour because it’s so chaotic,” Cavendish said.
“I’m happy, I love the Giro and racing here, so it’s great to be back.
“I’m not very young anymore, I’m usually in gear after four to five days, but at the end of the day I’m still the old Cavendish.”
“I think there are a few guys who are just as strong and fast, the strongest and fastest doesn’t necessarily mean the best,” Cavendish said.
“I’ve never been that but I win. Caleb has the fastest legs, Fabio is the strongest, but it doesn’t necessarily mean you win bike races.
“Sprinting is like chess on wheels, you work out how to be strongest and fastest.
“If you have the guys on that list, it leaves me full of confidence,” he said of his team.
“I know it’s on me, I know I’ve got the best group of guys around me, there are no excuses. I haven’t had a full team like this year like Fabio, so it’s nice to get that at the Giro.
“The Giro in Hungary has been incredible,” Cavendish said.
“The crowds were phenomenal. I’ve seen many people on bikes, many bike paths. People have loved the Grande Partenza. It’s been a privilege for me to be here and an exceptional privilege to win here.
“I am happy to be back here. Like I said, I love racing, I love Italy, and I love the Giro,” he said. “This race it’s been nice to me. It’s super nice to win today.”
He is the joint record holder for stage wins in the Tour de France after he defied the odds with a return to form in 2021 when he won four stages.
Australian sprinter Caleb Ewan failed to produce, possibly still suffering from his stage one fall in Visegrad.
In the overall standings Van der Poel leads Briton Simon Yates by 11 seconds and the 2017 Giro champion Tom Dumoulin is third at 15sec.
The race and its remaining peloton of 175 riders switches to Italy from tomorrow for the fourth stage that involves a long, steep climb up Mount Etna.
“I should be able to keep the lead as far as Etna, beyond that I can’t say,” Van der Poel said.
Team Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl’s British rider Mark Cavendish reacts after he crossed the finish line to win the third stage of the Giro d’Italia 2022 cycling race, 201 kilometres between Kaposvar and Balatonfured, Hungary, yesterday. (AFP)
