Today’s stage between Nonantola and Sestola presented a flat and easy parcour in the first part of the stage, but it was followed by 60 km of broken and tough terrain. The stage was off to a fast start with many attacks by riders trying to move away from the main group but with more than 50 km in the legs the race was still led by one big group.

Eventually, a group of 15 riders moved away from the main group with the first Maglia Rosa of the race, Edo Affini, and Daan Hoole representing the Academy’s colors in that move, and Schelling, Maas, and Williams riding safely in the bunch. The hard rhythm of the peloton forced the front group to pick up the pace and quickly it was down to three riders in the last part of the day. The victory was taken by a solo rider, with Williams, Maas, and Schelling crossing the finish line in the favorites group. 

After three days of racing in Italy we still have three guys in the Top 20 overall, ahead of the first mountains stages. Tomorrow a 164 km long stage will see the rider start in Rio Saliceto and finish in Mornico al Serio. The parcour is totally flat, which makes a bunch sprint more than expected in the last stage before heading to the first mountaintop finish of the 2018 Giro d’Italia.