SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Paul Magnier won a bunch sprint to make it two wins out of three at this year’s Giro d’Italia, while Uruguayan cyclist Guillermo Silva remained in the overall lead on Sunday as the race prepares to return to Italy.
Magnier edged out Jonathan Milan by half a wheel, with Dyland Groenewegen millimeters behind in third. So close was the finish that Magnier initially raised his hand in celebration then immediately put it down and seemed uncertain as to whether he had actually won.
“I dreamed about it and it was the goal to go for the stage again and the team did an amazing job again,” said Magnier, who rides for Soudal Quick-Step. “And then I was not really sure to win the stage, to be honest. I celebrate and then I say ‘oh, I’m not sure’ but in the end I won, so I’m really happy.
“Now I have to say that I feel really good and I can be with the best sprinters in the world, so I will try to enjoy this moment and keep going like this with the team.”
Sunday’s third stage was a 175-kilometer route from Plovdiv — one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Europe — to the Bulgarian capital of Sofia.
Diego Pablo Sevilla, Alessandro Tonelli and Manuele Tarozzi attacked from the start and it appeared as if the three-man breakaway was going to contest the finish, but they were mopped up with the line in sight.
It was the third and final stage in Bulgaria before Monday’s rest day as the Giro moves to Italy. Tuesday’s fourth stage is a 138-kilometer route from Catanzaro, in the foot of Italy, to Cosenza.
The 24-year-old Silva, who rides for XDS Astana, is four seconds ahead of German rider Florian Stork and Italian climbing specialist Giulio Ciccone.
“The team is extremely supportive and wanted me to keep this jersey going into the rest day. So we’re going to enjoy it,” Silva said.
“Today was just unbelievable. Every moment, people were looking at me and I still can’t quite believe it. We’ll try to hold onto it (the leader's jersey) for as long as possible and it’s very nice to carry it to Italy.”
The 109th men’s Giro ends on May 31 in Rome.
The women’s Giro runs from May 30-June 7 with Italian rider Elisa Longo Borghini as the defending champion.
Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO
personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who
make comments. Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. Don't threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Anyone violating these rules will be issued a
warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be
revoked.
Please purchase a Premium Subscription to continue reading.
To continue, please log in, or sign up for a new account.
We offer one free story view per month. If you register for an account, you will get two additional story views. After those three total views, we ask that you support us with a subscription.
A subscription to our digital content is so much more than just access to our valuable content. It means you’re helping to support a local community institution that has, from its very start, supported the betterment of our society. Thank you very much!
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
Keep it clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
Don't threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.