With some serious climbing but also 10 flat kilometers into the finish, stage 3 of the Settimana Coppi e Bartali promised to be an interesting one. In the beginning several riders tried to go clear from the bunch but it took quite some time before nine riders formed a breakaway. For BORA – hansgrohe Patrick Gamper was part of this group which survived until the final climb of the day. There, attacks started again and finally a trio went away to battle for the stage win. Ben Zwiehoff managed to be part of a first chasing group and finished again among the top contenders while B. Healy took the win from the front group.
Results
01 B. Healy 3:29:06
02 D. Pozzovivo + 0:00
03 M. Padun + 0:00
14 Ben Zwiehoff + 0:25
From the finish line
„There was a big crash in the beginning of the stage and due to that the bunch was split into pieces. Unfortunately, I was in the last group, and we had to chase hard to come back. The boys did a brilliant job there to help me, otherwise it would have been game over. But I had to pay for this effort on the last climb. I almost made it when Pozzovivo attacked but missed that little bit. Still, I am happy with my performance. It’s just a pity that the climbs are not very long here.“ – Ben Zwiehoff
„That was a tough stage. The steep climb had also a gravel section, and in the finale the bunch broke into pieces there. Gampi showed moral today as he was already dropped, but when he came back, he directedly attacked and was then part of the leading group of nine riders. Ben was strong again but missed that little bit to make it into the decisive move. We are close, but not there yet to really fight for a win. But we can be happy with the performances so far.“ – Jens Zemke, Sports Director