Cavendish wins to mark Giro return, Van der Poel keeps lead

BALATONFÜRED, Hungary (AP) — Mark Cavendish marked his return to the Giro d’Italia by winning a bunch sprint at the end of the third stage on Sunday while Mathieu van der Poel kept hold of the pink jersey.

Cavendish, who rides for Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl, raised his arms over his head and beamed broadly after crossing the line just ahead of Arnaud Demare and Fernando Gaviria.

It was a 16th stage win in the Giro for the 36-year-old Cavendish, who hasn’t ridden the Italian race in nine years.

It was also a 53rd win in the three grand tours for the sprint superstar from the Isle of Man, inching him closer to Mario Cipollini, who is second in the table of stage winners on 57. Eddy Merckx won 64 stages.

There was little change in the overall standings at the end of the flat 201-kilometer (125-mile) route along Lake Balaton from Kaposvár to Balatonfüred. Most of the general classification contenders crossed the line with the same time after a slow and unremarkable day in the saddle.

Dutch cyclist Van der Poel remained 11 seconds ahead of Simon Yates and 16 ahead of 2017 Giro winner Tom Dumoulin.

Three riders escaped shortly after the start. Italians Mattia Bias, Filippo Tagliani and Samuele Rivi easily built a lead and their advantage hovered around the three-minute mark for most of the day.

They were caught with a little under 30 kilometers (19 miles) remaining.

It was the last of three stages in Hungary and the race has its first rest day on Monday as the riders transfer to the Italian island of Sicily.

They face their first serious test on Tuesday as the fourth stage culminates in a category-one climb up Mount Etna after a 172-kilometer (107-mile) route from Avola.

The Giro finishes on May 29 in Verona.

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