"It was the hardest victory so far!" - Tim Merlier seals third Grand Tour stage win of his career in frantic finale to stage 3

For the third time in his career, Soudal - Quick-Step's Tim Merlier sprinted to a Grand Tour stage win on stage 3 of the 2024 Giro d'Italia, surviving a late scare and a frantic finale in the process.

"It was the hardest victory so far!" admitted the 31-year-old Belgian, who's previously won stages at the 2021 Giro d'Italia and the 2021 Tour de France, in his post-stage interview. "It was a really hard final, in the last kilometre I never found a good slipstream, so I was always in the wind."

After missing out on selection for Soudal - Quick-Step at each of the three Grand Tour last year, Merlier will feel vindicated by this latest triumph, one that tastes even sweeter given the immense level of sprint competition at the 2024 Giro d'Italia.

"In the last 300m I heard ‘you need to go’, also Milan was starting his sprint on the left side, I knew I was gonna be first or second," Merlier concludes, having edged out last year's Maglia Ciclamino and Biniam Girmay in the finale. "I’m happy to win this one."