Giro d'Italia 2023 Stage 3 LIVE - Furious pace set on wet climbs, Remco Evenepoel looking strong as Mads Pedersen and Michael Matthews position themselves for stage finish

Ever so slightly late, as they ride in leisurely fashion along a wide single carriageway towards KM0. Lots of conversations being held amid the peloton, including one between Frenchmen Warren Barguil (Arkea Samsic) and Thibaut Pinot (Groupama FDJ).

Out pops the race director through the sunroof, puts his whistle in his mouth, and unfurls the black and white flag. Will it be an exciting fight for the break? Let's hope so.

The riders have begun coasting towards the official KM0 start which should be given in four minutes time. It ought to be a bit of a cruise for the first few hours, and the chance of a breakaway succeeding look slim, as there are plenty of teams with an interest in the finale, but you can't rule anything out in Grand Tours these days.

THE SCORES ON THE GC DOORS

1 Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) 5:16:29
2 Filippo Ganna (Ineos Grenadiers) +0:22
3 Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) +0:29
4 Stefan Kung (Groupama FDJ) +0:43
5 Primoz Roglic (Jumbo Visma) +0:43
6 Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) +0:55
7 Aleksandr Vlasov (Bora Hansgrohe) +0:55
8 Tao Geoghegan Hart (Ineos Grenadiers) +0:59
9 Brandon McNulty (UAE Team Emirates) +01:00
10 Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates) +01:05

Seldom do you see someone impose themselves on a Grand Tour sprint in quite such dominant style as the Bahrain Victorious rider did yesterday. He looked like a mountain on the bike - dare we draw comparisons with Marcel Kittel - practically ripping his handlebars off as he roared to victory by more than a bike length.

If you ask me, the fallout from yesterday's late crash was a storm in a teacup. The incident was unfortunate, these things happen, and the costs relatively minimal in the scheme of things. This early on in a Grand Tour tensions are bound to be running high, however, so maybe we shouldn't be surprised that so much energy was spent searching for the guilty culprit.

Although it was suggested initially that Pascal Ackermann (UAE Team Emirates) was responsible, the common consensus (and more importantly the view of the man in pink) ended up selecting Kaden Groves (Alpecin Deceuninck) as the fall guy.

Exactly like this. Perfectly straightforward - or as straightforward as any grand tour stage can be this early on, with all the nerves and twitchiness that goes with it - until it isn't.

BUONGIORNO!

Welcome to live coverage of Stage 3 of this year’s Giro d’Italia. We’re roughly 45 minutes from the scheduled start in Vasti, Abruzzo where the temperature is an optimal 18 degrees. The 89% humidity might prove more stifling, though that should ease as the race heads away from the coast, on the 213km journey south to Melfi.

Today should be another day for the sprinters, but less the big guys and more the loose limbed gents like Mads Pedersen and Michael Matthews, as the long uphill grind ought to eliminate most of the heavyweights. Could it also cause trouble in the GC battle as well? We'll find out later this afternoon.