Was stage 3 of the 2025 Giro d'Italia a disappointment? "I expected a bit more" admits race director Mauro Vegni

Despite much hype pre-stage and expectations of unpredictability and chaos, stage 3 of the 2025 Giro d'Italia ended up being a relatively routine win for Lidl-Trek leader Mads Pedersen, who regained the Maglia Rosa with his second stage success in three days.

Afterwards, a number of notable names in the cycling world commented online that the stage had been a bit of a disappointment entertainment wise. The Lanterne Rouge podcast's Benji Naesen, for example, took to his official X (Twitter) account to express his confusion at the tactics - or lack of them - from some of Lidl-Trek's rivals in the peloton. "Surprising that so little teams are actually trying to win the stage by putting pressure on Lidl-Trek on this climb," he wrote, calling out Team Jayco AlUla in particular for their lack of impetus. "Completely inexplainable."

Speaking to RAI in a post-stage interview, the Giro d'Italia's race director Mauro Vegni admitted the stage didn't really live up to the expectations he had when putting the race together. "The start was designed to arrive in Italy with at least some sort of general classification. As always, it’s the riders who make the difference," Vegni explained, slightly disappointed by the lack of action on display in the Albanian farewell last Sunday. "Today I expected a bit more — some tried not to do too much because they want to save energy."

With a rest day this Monday, the Italian Grand Tour returns to its spiritual homeland tomorrow. Due to a lack of action from the general classification contenders on stage 3, Mads Pedersen does, as mentioned, carry the Maglia Rosa onto Italian soil. Of the pre-race GC favourites, Primoz Roglic is leading the way, sitting second overall, 9 seconds down on Pedersen and more importantly 16 seconds clear of Juan Ayuso.