Tirreno-Adriatico: Viviani wins stage 3

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Elia Viviani (Deceuninck-QuickStep) claimed a tightly contested stage 3 at Tirreno-Adriatico, beating sprint rivals Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Fernando Gaviria (UAE Team Emirates). Adam Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) had a relatively quiet day and retained his race lead.

The technical finish contained a number of tight corners and Viviani's class, timing and expert support paid off with the Italian coming around Sagan's wheel with the line in sight. Sagan had been caught at the front from too far out, and intelligently eased off to allow Viviani's team to close an important gap. The former world champion would eventually open the sprint using Viviani's leadout but the Italian national champion had too much speed. Gaviria looked to be out of contention inside the final kilometre but delivered a brave sprint before closing in on Sagan just before the line.

The win marked Viviani's fourth of the season after triumphs at the Tour Down Under, Cadel Evans Great Ocean Race, and the UAE Tour.

Viviani paid tribute to his team immediately after the finish and admitted that although Sagan was still coming back to his best form after a recent stomach virus the Bora-Hansgrohe leader was still a force to be reckoned with.

"He's the guy to watch because he's got so much class compared to the others. He had trouble, and you could see from his body. He's lost weight but if you see how he moved in the last few kilometres, it's unbelievable. I'm really happy to win. It's never easy."

The Italian added that the string of tight corners in the finale paved the way for a chaotic sprint. No single team were able to force complete control over the peloton, yet Viviani always appeared to have one spare teammate when it mattered most.

"It was chaotic. Everyone wanted the same position and it was a tricky finish. Everyone wanted to stay in their position so that they didn't lose time. I lost Max [Richeze] and [Michael] Morkov in the final but I always had one guy spare. [Zdenek] Stybar was in front and he covered my wheel in the corners and with 500 meters to go we were all in one line. I had a good wheel and I knew that in the last 100m I'm probably faster.

Viviani's win lines him up as one of the key favourites for next week's Milan-San Remo - a race he is desperate to win in the national champion's jersey.

"It's really tough. It's the first 220km of the season. I'm really happy with that. To win a sprint after 120km is one thing. To win one after 220km in Tirrreno is another."

The stage had seen a six-man break consisting of Pro Continental riders establish a lead of over seven minutes.

Stepan Kurianov (Gazprom-RusVelo), Natnael Berhane (Cofidis), Mirco Maestri (Bardiani-CSF) and Sebastian Schönberger (Neri Sottoli-Selle Italia) were joined by Alessandro Tonelli (Bardiani-CSF) and Alexander Cataford (Israel Cycling Academy) in the opening kilometres but with Mitchelton controlling the pace early on, and then the sprinters' teams doubling up at the front during the second half of the stage the chance of a break surviving were less than slim.

Tom Bohli (UAE Team Emirates) and Kasper Asgreen (Deceuninck-Quick Step) laid the ground work as Maestri and then Kurianov dropped out of contention and with 30km to go the group's gap stood at just two minutes.

Sagan had declared he was fit to contest for the stage after missing out on stage 1 and he was duly carried to the front by his Bora teammates inside the final 10km. overnight leader, Yates, was protected diligently by his squad but it was Viviani's men and those from Dimension Data and UAE Team Emirates, who looked to control the sprint.

However, on a course this technical, and at such high speeds, the task was virtually impossible. Even's Viviani's typically dependable team lost their way a little as the line approached. Yet, the Italian can more than handle himself, and once he hit the front with just under 100m to go the stage was virtually a formality.

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