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Matthews fends off Pedersen to win stage three of Giro d'Italia

Michael Matthews celebrates on the podium
Michael Matthews celebrates on the podium

Australian Michael Matthews timed his final effort to perfection to win a rain-affected stage three at the Giro d'Italia on Monday, following a 216km ride from Vasto to Melfi.

Matthews and Mads Pedersen were neck and neck until the final corner, but the Australian, who was set up perfectly by his Jayco-AlUla team - including Ireland's Eddie Dunbar - moved in front on the home straight to emerge victorious.

Dunbar dropped off with less than a kilometre to go after helping to lay some important groundwork for Matthews.

Trek-Segafredo's Pedersen finished second, ahead of Kaden Groves [Alpecin-Deceuninck] and Vincenzo Albanese [EOLO-Kometa].

Corratec-Selle Italia riders Alexander Konychev and Veljko Stojnic were the early pace-setters, leading the stage for the first half of the race, before being reeled in by the main group with 36km to go.

Tuesday's stage four is a 175km ride from Venosa to Lago Laceno, which features two long and manageable ascents before culminating in a steep climb and a flat finish.

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