Place Name: Via Avezzano
Address: Via Avezzano 25, 67062 Magliano de' Marsi L'Aquila, Italy
Details: March 11, 2026
The third stage is the longest stage of the week at 221KM from Cortono to Magliano de' Marsi. The profile is interesting and very difficult to determine what might happen. The first 120KM gently roll with a few short, shallow climbs sprinkled in. The riders pass the Lago Trasimeno and continue South down the spine of Italy, out of Tuscany and into Umbria. Once in Terni with 100KM to go, the course steps up all the way to the finish while almost never going downhill. The first climb is to Marmore, a 5KM drag at 4%. There is no descent after Marmore and the bunch will continue South, passing Lago di Piediluco and Vignaletto on the way to a bonus sprint in Casette. Out of Casette comes a 7KM climb at 4% up to Petrella Salto. From Petrella Salto, there are 40KM of rolling roads all the way to Magliano de' Marsi and the finish line. It's a 50/50 chance of the pure sprinters getting to the finish in contention for the win. Sprinters should be able to handle the 2,500M of elevation gain but it's how aggressively other teams want to ride that will determine the fate of the fast men.
Yesterday's late day rain hung around making the roads wet at the start with more rain likely throughout the day. The only rider to attack at the start was Diego Pablo Sevilla of Polti-VisitMalta. He gained a maximum advantage of 5 minutes 45 seconds and was able to pick up the only Mountains Points available on the day in Todi. With nothing else to fight for, Sevilla dropped back into the peloton and it was clear very early that the bunch was only interested in going for a bunch sprint. Lidl-Trek, Alpecin-Premier Tech, and Soudal Quickstep shared the pace making to keep the peloton rolling on a wet, miserable day.
Silvan Dillier of Alpecin-Premier Tech dragged the bunch up to Marmore to the first plateau and the rain briefly abated, giving the riders a chance to wipe off their glasses and change jackets. With 91KM to go on a short downhill, the organizers neutralized the race to allow a local train to pass a level crossing in the town ahead. The race was going slower than the slowest expected schedule and the organizers had not accounted for the riders to be passing through so late. Just 1KM later, passed the crossing, the motor bikes released the riders and the race continued.
Dillier ceded control of the front of the peloton to Visma-Lease a Bike and UAE-XRG who moved forward with the bonus sprint in Casette in mind. Matteo Jorgenson, Isaac del Toro, and Jonathan Milan all looked interested in sprinting. Nearly everyone misjudged the length of the sprint and it was won by Danny van Poppel of Redbull-Bora Hansgrohe who took it ahead of Andrea Vendrame of Jayco AlUla and del Toro who kept his sprint going for third and a single bonus second.
Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier did his part for Lidl-Trek and relieved Dillier to pull the peloton along to get closer to the finale. With 30KM to go, riders started to strip off rain jackets and take the final natural breaks for the day. For teams without a sprinter, following in the wheels for five hours just to get beat in the sprint isn't a great way to spend the day. With 25KM to go, Jonas Abrahamsen of Uno-X Mobility rolled the dice and sent an attack. A quick response came from Ethan Hayter of Soudal Quickstep and Liam Slock of Lotto Intermarché who promptly bridged up and sat on. It took a while for the peloton to get organized but Lidl-Trek closed the group down 5KM later and kept the pressure on the front to discourage any further attacking.
The attack was successful in kicking off the positioning battle coming into the finale. Decathlon CMA CGM, Ineos, Soudal Quickstep, Lotto Intermarché, and Picnic-PostNL all came forward and owned the road from one side to the other. The speed ramped up with 3KM to go and teams started to burn riders to keep leaders in position. Under 1KM to go, Decathlon CMA CGM had four riders, Lidl-Trek and EF-Education EasyPost and three and the rest of the peloton was a swirl of mixing colors.
With more numbers, Decathlon CMA CGM outlasted everyone and brought Tobias Lund Andresen into the final 300M in third wheel but Jonathan Milan of Lidl-Trek infiltrated their lead out and was sitting second wheel. Lund Andresen had to fight off Madis Mihkels of EF-Education EasyPost and did so expertly as the road gently bent to the left. When the last Decathlon CMA CGM rider pulled off, Milan was forced to open the sprint first. He led the bunch around the final corner at 125M but the road gradually rose to 2% and the big Italian didn't have the watts to overcome the weight penalty and drifted backwards, ultimately finishing seventh. Lund Andresen came around Milan and was leading with 90M to go. A door opened for Jasper Philipsen of Alpecin-Premier Tech on the inside but it was a little too late. Lund Andresen was the best on the day and crossed the line with two fists held up in the air. Arnaud De Lie of Lotto Intermarché benefited by following Lund Andresen through the sprint to take second on a bike throw to Philipsen in third.
Tags: Tirreno-Adriatico, 2026, Tirreno-Adriatico 2026, Stage 3, March, Cortona, Magliano de' Marsi, Diego Pablo Sevilla, Silvan Dillier, Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier, Jonas Abrahamsen, Ethan Hayter, Liam Slock, Tobias Lund Andresen, Jonathan Milan, Jasper Philipsen, Arnaud De Lie