Stage 3 of Tirreno-Adriatico was the toughest test of the week-long race so far with two tough climbs to tackle in the final 20km of the stage. By the finish, Simon Geschke was first home for Team Giant-Alpecin in 40th place, 1 minute and 21 seconds down on the day’s stage winner.

The stage win went to Wout Poels (Team Sky) after a strong solo effort over the final kilometres, and with it he moves into the overall race lead with a 17” deficit over his nearest challenger.

The stage was the first chance for the lighter frames to come to the fore after a few sprint opportunities in the past days, and the final result reflected this change in parcours. The longest stage of the race got underway with a two rider breakaway that spend the vast majority of the stage at the head of affairs but in the final stages their efforts came to nothing.

Geschke was the only rider left after the final climbs in what was left of the main peloton but he couldn’t follow the attacks on the two tough ramps before the finish, with Poels moving clear on the final ascent. A front group of 17 came over the line 14” down on Poels, with a handful of riders then between this group and Geschke's group on the road.

All the other riders on the team finished safely within the time limit ahead of tomorrow’s queen stage with its mountain-top finish. After the stage, Geschke told the Giant-Alpecin website:

“On the profile the finale looked promising for me so I was motivated to give it a try. We got into a good position on the road to try for it but at the end the climbs proved a bit too much for me and I didn’t have the best legs for it either. It was a steep climb of around 4km that was too much and I had to let go on the second time up."

Coach Rudi Kemna added:

“The stage today was a tough one with a steep climb at the end to be tackled twice. Until the final we were looking in a good position but then the final climbs exploded the peloton.

“Overall though our level as a team was good. Simon was our strongest chance on the climbs but it was a bit too steep for him. The others couldn’t follow the pace on the first time up, but it will prove as a good intense block ahead of some coming goals in the weeks ahead.”