May 10, 2026
We've had two days and two chaotic finishes. Many riders will be wanting a safe, straightforward run to the line to close out three days in Bulgaria. The good news is that the stage couldn't be more simple. There are 175 km between the start in Plovdiv and the capital city of Sofia and only one KOM and only a handful of turns along the way. The Borovec Pass is 9.2 km at 5.3% with the summit coming 72 km from the finish. There is an intermediate sprint on the lead up to the climb in Dolna Banja and a Redbull Sprint 13 km from the finish but those are the only real obstacles along the way. What is even better news is that the last 9 km are on a dead-straight road into the heart of Sofia. The road surface turns to bricks/pavers in the last few hundred meters but overall, the finish seems as safe as they come.
Race Summary
It came as no surprise that there would be some riders elect to not start today's stage. Adam Yates of UAE-XRG and Andrea Vendrame of Jayco AlUla each went home to recover from their injuries. The weather significantly improved as the sun returned which helped to lift the spirits as the bunch rolled out in front of large crowds once again. For a third day running, Polti-VisitMalta went up the road with Mountains Leader Diego Pablo Sevilla. This time, he was joined by teammate Alessandro Tonelli and Bardiani CSF 7 Saber rider Manuele Tarozzi. The gap only got to 2 minutes before XDS-Astana started to ride with Arjen Livyns. XDS-Astana wanted some help and they allowed the gap to increase to over 3 minutes 30 seconds before Ayco Bastiaens of Soudal Quickstep and Hartthijs De Vries of Unibet Rose Rockets went forward to help control.
With 142 km remaining, the race passed through Pazardzhik. The Bulgarian crowds were huge and the city was festooned with pink balloons, banners, and signs celebrating the arrival of the Giro. The break continued to trundle along Westward as snow capped peaks could be seen at the highest elevations of the Rila Mountains. They rolled into Dolna Banja and Tarozzi took maximum points in an uncontested sprint. 2 minutes 25 seconds later, Jonathan Milan rolled across the line to snag 3 points towards the Maglia Ciclamino with no challenge from current owner, Paul Magnier.
Out of town, the road started to gently rise all the way to 81 km to go at the start of the official Borovec Pass. The pace was constant on the climb and everyone was able to hold in the group with the exception of Arnaud De Lie of Lotto Intermarché. The Belgian sprinter contracted a bacterial infection before the race and was struggling in the first few days. He was distanced 2.5 km from the top but he had two teammates with him and managed to stay within about 90 seconds. When the break reached the summit, Sevilla took the points for the Maglia Azzurro like he had done on all of the climbs in the previous two days. The main body of the peloton came over the top 2 minutes 35 seconds later to start the 25 km downhill.
De Lie made it back into the peloton with 54.5 km to go with a big thanks to be paid to Jonas Rutsch and Joshua Giddings. A few kilometers after De Lie got back on, Lidl-Trek added a man to the chase although it was more of a formality because the gap was already below 90 seconds. The gap got as low as 30 seconds with 30 km remaining and XDS-Astana decided to pull Livyns off the front. The lead shifted back up to 1 minute with 19 km to go and the bonus seconds at the Redbull sprint were becoming less of a possibility for the peloton which was exactly what XDS-Astana had hoped for.
Coming into the Redbull Sprint, Tonelli led out with Tarozzi and Sevilla behind. Tarozzi jumped 150 meters from the line with Sevilla right on his case. Sevilla just about pulled level but Tarozzi had enough to take the monetary prize and 6 seconds in GC. Through the sprint, the riders exited the forest passed Pancharevo lake and reach the suburban sprawl of Sofia.
9 km from the line, the race reached the wide boulevard that would take them to the finish. There was more than enough space for everyone to line up across the road and it was Lidl-Trek, Movistar, Bardiani CSF 7 Saber, and Soudal Quickstep pushing the speed higher. As fast as the bunch was going, the three leaders maintained 19 seconds with 4 km to go and were working well together. The road was so wide that the peloton split in half down the middle with competing trains on either side. Riders were jumping from one side to the other, trying to take whichever side was moving quickest.
Inside the final kilometers, the three leaders still had a handful of seconds but the peloton was hitting terminal velocity. Unibet Rose Rockets were leading into 500 meters to go which swallowed up the break as one lead out man after another peeled off. The last rider from Unibet Rose Rockets pulled off with 250 meters to go and it was Jonathan Milan of Lidl-Trek that launched first before the final little kink to the left. Paul Magnier of Soudal Quickstep was on his wheel with Dylan Groenewegen of Unibet Rose Rockets in third position. Milan got to 120 meters to go and sat down for a seated sprint. Magnier came out of the slipstream and was gaining until 50 meters to go when he hit clean air. Groenewegen popped out in the last possible moment and lunged for the line, as did Milan who had recovered and was out of the saddle. Magnier raised a hand in celebration as he crossed the finish line but there was indecision a moment later when he saw the Dutch rider on his left. Magnier was safe however because he had nearly a full wheel in front when he hit the line with Milan just holding on for second to Groenewegen in third.
Soudal Quickstep will have fond memories of Bulgaria when they reflect on the race in the weeks to come. They have accumulated two stage wins, the Maglia Rose, and have a firm grip on the Maglia Ciclamino. There were no changes in the GC and it will be Guillermo Thomas Silva carrying the Maglia Rose on his back for XDS-Astana as the peloton arrives in Italy for Stage 4 on Tuesday.