Stage 3

The road

At the start

Etna, and the first real climb

Ganna still has pink and Thomas is still 23 seconds behind him; Aleksandr Vlasov, who came to lead Astana, abandoned yesterday. Today the Giro comes at Mount Etna from the north-east for the first time, nineteen kilometres up to Piano Provenzana at the end of a rolling 150 from Enna. It is the first day this race can sort its favourites out, and every one of them knows it.

How it was won

1. 1121 km to go

   Thomas hits the deck

   Disaster strikes early: Geraint Thomas crashes in the neutralised zone, apparently on a stray bidon. He remounts but the damage is done - his overall bid will die on the volcano.

2. 243 km to go

   The break through Zafferana

   Caicedo and Visconti drive the escape through Zafferana Etnea as the peloton, no longer forced to chase for Thomas, lets the gap balloon toward the foot of Etna.

3. 314 km to go

   Yates slides backwards

   On the lower slopes of Mount Etna, Simon Yates is distanced as Bora set a brutal tempo. Another pre-race favourite is unravelling on the first mountain of the Giro.

4. 48 km to go

   Caicedo goes clear

   Fourteen kilometres from the summit Jonathan Caicedo shakes off Visconti and drives on alone as the rain begins to fall, chasing the biggest win of his career.

5. 54 km to go

   Kelderman lights the GC

   Behind, Wilco Kelderman throws down a searing dig 3.5km from the top. Nibali, Fuglsang and Pozzovivo can only watch him ride away, carving the first real GC gaps of the race.

6. 6At the line

   Caicedo wins on the volcano

   Caicedo crosses alone atop Mount Etna as the Giro is blown wide open behind - Thomas over ten minutes down and out, and Joao Almeida climbing into the maglia rosa.

The result