Giro d’Italia stage 3: Gaviria wins as Viviani is relegated

Fernando Gaviria (UAE-Emirates) was awarded victory on the third stage of the Giro d’Italia on Monday after the relegation of Elia Viviani in Orbetello.

Italian champion Viviani (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) was first man across the finish on the Tuscan coast but was deemed by judges to have swerved too far off his line as he made his kick in the bunch gallop.

It had appeared to be a perfectly timed move by Viviani, coming off the wheel of Sunday’s stage winner Pascal Ackermann (Bora-Hansgrohe). But after moving left to pass the German, Viviani veered again and came close to clashing with Trek-Segafredo’s Matteo Moschetti.

Following the relegation of his friend and former team mate, Gaviria opted for a subdued appearance on the podium – bowing his head rather than raising his hands. Arnaud Demare took second place on the stage, with Ackermann, who faded in the closing metres, third.

While it was a dramatic end to a stage made stressful by the threat of crosswinds, Primoz Roglic enjoyed an untroubled day to maintain his overall lead ahead of Simon Yates and Vincenzo Nibali.

However, Team Ineos hopeful Tao Geoghegan-Hart dropped out of the top ten after being held up by two crashes in the later stages of the race. Although he’d successfully recovered from coming down in the first, the second of these crashes came with around five kilometers remaining, resulting in lasting splits in the peloton.

Movistar climber Richard Carapaz also got held up by the incident, having only just chased back on from a mechanical with 9km remaining.

After early lone breakaway Sho Hatsuyama (Nippo-Vini Fantini) was reeled in with 75km to go and a brief split in the wind, the tense bunch largely stayed as one.

“Everyone was really stressed waiting for a crosswind, but in the end nothing really happened” said Viviani before learning of his relegation.

Little did he realise there was one twist yet to come.