(PRIMASPORT) The pink jersey of the Giro Next Gen Carta Giovani Nazionale lasted 24 hours on the shoulders of Davide Donati, a sprinter from Brescia for the Red Bull – Bora – Hansgrohe Rookies team, who in the second stage had outsprinted Belgian Aldo Taillieu and Frenchman Aubin Sparfel at the finish line in Crotone. The Belgian was the one to oust him Jasper Schoofs (Soudal Quick-Step Devo Team) who won the third stage, the 166 km Sibari-Villa d'Agri di Marsicovetere, at the end of a 149 km breakaway, ahead of Simone Zanini (XDS Astana Development Team) and Matteo Vanhuffel (Development Team PicNic PostNL).
Schoofs was part of a four-man effort alongside Diego Casagrande, Matteo Vanhuffel, and Simone Zanini. The attack reached a maximum advantage of 3:33 and was maintained even when, after the group accelerated on the Viggiano climb, the gap shrank to less than 40 seconds. The final climb of the day proved fatal for Maglia Rosa Davide Donati, who lost contact with the peloton with 15 kilometers to go and then crashed on the subsequent descent. Despite the group's strong comeback, the leaders, reduced to three after Casagrande's collapse, managed to fight for the win. In the finale, Schoofs prevailed over Zanini and Vanhuffel, over whom he holds a 6- and 7-second lead, respectively, in the general classification. (PRIMASPORT)
The victorious arrival of Schoofs a Villa d'Agri di Marsicovetere (credits: La Presse / RCS Sport Press Office)
