Lidl-Trek's Danish rider Mads Pedersen (C) sprints to the finish line to win the 3rd stage of the 108th Giro d'Italia cycling race. New Zealander Corbin Strong of Israel Premier Tech (right) finished second. Photo: AFP
New Zealand cyclist Corbin Strong has been pipped for a stage win on the Giro d'Italia.
Strong picked up the wheel of Dane Mads Pedersen at the end of the 160km stage and came along beside him, but was unable to get in front.
Strong, 25, finished a half a wheel length behind in second.
"It was a close sprint. I've always had confidence that I can take it to these guys in the sprint if I have a good run, and today I had a lot of confidence after stage 1," Strong told his Israel Premier Tech team after the stage.
The stage contained a number of hill climbs.
"I had to fight a lot on the climb and I dropped just before the top. It took a little longer to come back on these roads, but thankfully Jakob was there with me. For sure, it took out a bit of energy to chase back, but when I was chasing back on, I knew I had good legs as I felt really strong."
Pedersen's second-stage win resulted in him taking back the overall leader's jersey from Primoz Roglic.
"Wow, to have two stage victories already and now back in the pink that's exactly what we wanted today," Pedersen said.
The stage was the last of three stages in Albania.
Strong was 69th in general classification, just over five minutes behind Pedersen.
Greg Henderson was the last New Zealander to win a stage on a Grand Tour, taking out the third stage of the Vuelta a Espana in 2009.
After Monday's rest day, Tuesday's stage four will be a flat 189-km ride from Alberobello to Lecce.
- Reuters / RNZ
