Giro d'Italia: Mark Cavendish wins stage three bunch sprint

Mark Cavendish has returned to his winning ways, with a textbook leadout from Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team putting him in perfect position for the Manxman to take his first triumph since Milano-Torino.

With the long kilometers ahead, few riders had the willpower to go up early on the day. The Drone Hopper - Androni Giocattoli duo of Mattia Bais and Filippo Tagliani went on the attack once again, today joined by Samuele Rivi (EOLO-Kometa).

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Bais and Rivi resisted until 28 kilometers to go, but the long flat roads drained them of the necessary energy to stay ahead. Pascal Eenkhoorn and Rick Zabel battled between themselves for the KOM jersey in a small rise to the points available, with the Dutchman staying ahead and looking to try and surprise - caught aswell with 6 kilometers to go.

The finale was very fast, with many leadouts trying to get to the head of the race as expected. Luckily no riders hit the deck in the final kilometer. Quick-Step were the team that was best at delivering the main man to the finish, with Cavendish launching his sprint early.

Despite this, he was able to stay in front and grab the win. Arnaud Démare and Fernando Gaviria completed the podium as several sprinters didn't have the space to come through the final meters.