Wednesday’s stage 3 of Tirreno-Adriatico carried the eager professional cycling peloton away from the Italian west coast on a 216-kilometer ride through hilly terrain from Follonica to Foligno in eastern central Umbria.

The stage was won in a peloton sprint across the finish line in Foligno. Alpecin-Deceuninck’s Jasper Philipsen delivered a dominant performance that secured him the victory in the stage. Philipsen crossed the finish line closely followed by Bahrain-Victorious’ Phil Bauhaus while Biniam Girmay surprisingly took third for his Intermarche-Circus-Wanty outfit.

"It's always nice to win, but it's even nicer after a team effort like today’s,” stage winner Philipsen told Roadcycling.com after being celebrated on the podium. “My teammates told me there was a possibility of crosswinds in the finale, so I was up there. It feels good to get the first victory for our team this year, but we already knew it was going to come soon. Mathieu van der Poel's impressive leadout made it easier for me to get the win,” Philipsen explained.

The top of the general classification remains unchanged following today’s stage 3. Ineos-Grenadier riderFilippo Ganna has a 28 second advantage over Bora-Hansgrohe’s Lennard Kämna in second place and he is 31 seconds ahead of Magnus Sheffield (Ineos-Grenadiers) in third.

"I did not see the split in the peloton, but I managed to be at the front with my teammates. It eventually came down to another sprint finish and I'm still in the lead. We'll see how we work it out tomorrow,” race leader Ganna told Roadcycling.com.

Stage 4 of Tirreno-Adriatico 2023 will take the riders on a 218-kilometer hilly ride from Greccio to Tortoreto on the east coast of Italy. Look for the general classification contenders to finally aim for success in this year’s race and show their hopeful faces at the front of the peloton.

Stay tuned to Roadcycling.com for coverage from Tirreno-Adriatico 2023.