Gilberto Simoni of Italy won stage three of the Giro d'Italia from Pontremoli to Corno alle Scale today with a strong ride on the first mountain stage.
Simoni, Giro winner last year, attacked two kilometres from the finish and crossed the line 15 seconds ahead of his Saeco team mate and fellow Italian Damiano Cunego. Franco Pellizotti of Italy finished third, one second behind Cunego.
Thanks to his 15-second winning margin and the 20-second time bonus awarded to the stage winner, Simoni took over the race leader's pink jersey. He now leads Cunego by 13 seconds with Yaroslav Popovych of Ukraine third at 21 seconds.
