Date: Sunday, May 10
Distance: 175km
Start location: Plovdiv / Пловдив
Finish location: Sofia / София
Start time: 11:05 BST / 12:05 CEST / 06:05 EDT
Finish time (approx.): 15:14 BST / 16:14 CEST / 10:14 EDT
After two horror crashes, nerves will be high going into day three of the 2026 Giro d’Italia which sees the spotlight fall back onto the sprinters. The final day of the peloton’s Bulgarian sojourn will take place over 175 kilometres from Plovdiv to the capital, Sofia, in the west of the country. The Borovets climb – the only ascent of the day – shouldn’t be too much of a bother for the fastmen given its milder gradient and distance from the finish, with any dropped heavier sprinters able to latch back on over the remaining 70 kilometres.
A false flat downhill sets up the run-in to the nation’s capital, an entirely straight 8 kilometres primed for a bunch sprint to conclude the second of eight sprint stages on this year’s Italian Grand Tour. However, a straight road into the finish isn’t all plain-sailing. Timing will be key for the sprint trains and their respective stars, as the battle for the maglia ciclamino continues.
Giro d'Italia 2026 stage three profile
Giro d'Italia 2026 stage three profile (RCS)
Contenders
Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step) is off to a flying start after his stage one triumph, where he outsprinted the rest, including favourite Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek), to be the first to don this year’s maglia rosa. The young Frenchman currently heads the points classification, and will be looking to defend the ciclamino jersey for the Wolfpack and secure his fourth victory of the year.
Tobias Lund Andresen, who has already won three races in 2026, will be hungry for a win after he launched early to come agonisingly close to victory on stage one. Just behind him on the line was Brit Ethan Vernon (NSN), whose performance cemented this season’s show of form at the Tour Down Under and the Région Pays de la Loire Tour – and will no doubt continue on day three.
Lund Andreson wore the ciclamino jersey as Magnier shone in pink (Image credit: Getty)
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After his dream of winning the rare maglia rosa stage one sprint shattered some 300 metres from the line, Milan is no doubt raring for redemption on stage three. The Italian's chances are bolstered by the horsepower of his lead-out train (Simone Consonni, Max Walschid, Tim Torn Teutenberg) although their leader was forced to do the majority of the work on his own on day one after he lost his teammates to the the twists and turns of the final run-in. The concluding kilometre of stage three, however, is as straight as it gets, but comes with the added difficulty of teams knowing when and where to launch.
Stage three also provides another chance for Dylan Groenewegen (Unibet Rose Rockets), who’s hopes at a pink jersey for his team at their first Grand Tour were dashed when he became caught up in the dramatic mass crash that marred the sprint finale of day one. While the Dutchman’s credentials of 81 professional victories – four of which have come this year – make him a favourite for this test, his form may well depend on how he is holding up after that incident, in which he sustained a nasty blow to his shoulder.
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Stage three is another major chance for Groenewegen (Image credit: Getty)
Also caught up in the crash chaos was Australian sprinter Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Premier Tech), who had just returned to racing following an injury sustained at Omloop Het Niewsblad. As a fastman who can climb better than the likes of Milan and Groenewegen, Groves is a firm contender over the terrain of stage three – albeit fitness permitting.
Arnaud De Lie (Lotto-Intermarché) should also fancy his chances, having already proven he can beat Magnier on stage three of Tirreno-Adriatico, while Orluis Aular brings the speed for Movistar. Picnic PostNL have their sprint ambitions laid in Casper van Uden, who took victory on stage four last year, and the experienced Pascal Ackermann (Jayco AlUla) should also see this stage as a major opportunity.
Prediction
We think Jonathan Milan will make a come back for the win in Sofia.
