Ben O'Connor was competing in Tirreno-Adriatico for the first time, but the AG2R Citroën rider led the pack in the crosswinds of stage 3, making his presence felt in the overall battle even before the Italian race entered climbing territory.

The stage to Foligno may have ultimately ended in a group sprint, but Primoš Roglic's Jumbovisma team put the hammer down with around 12km to go, and with 10km to go, both Roglic and O'Connor stood out among the first lead group of 13 to drive a wedge into the field. Tensions were high among the many overall contenders, including race leader Filippo Ganna and Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates).

"Maybe it was an unwanted stage for me, but the crosswind at the end made it tough," said Ganna. But it's better to be at the front than at the back."

The bunch formed again at 4km, and Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Desseuninck) won the sprint after a brilliant lead-out from teammate Mathieu van der Pol. O'Connor finished in the peloton and retained his 16th place overall.

O'Connor is now 52 seconds behind Ganna in the lead and will have to battle on the upcoming climbing stages, but is 24 seconds behind second-place Leonard Kemna (Bora-Hansgrohe) and 3 seconds ahead of 11th-place Roglic.

O'Connor told Cycling News, "It's important that I didn't lose time today. 'It would have been better if I could have reduced the time. ...... But a sprint finish like this is pretty scary." O'Connor said.

The last two stages have seen group finishes, and the final section of stage 3 saw a series of turns that heightened the tension. Stage 4 finished at the top of the Tortoletto hill, while stage 5 had a 3,800-meter climb to the finish at the top of the Valico di Santa Maria Maddalena. Sprinters are unlikely to get another chance until the final stage, San Benedetto del Tronto.

"I think today was all about technique, luck, and a little bit of power," said the sprinter. I think the next three days in the hills will be less stressful and I think we'll do well in the finals."

Even without making up time in the third stage split, the Australian, who finished fourth overall in the 2021 Tour de France, seems to have made the right decision to switch from Paris-Nice to his first Tirreno-Adriatico. AG2R Citroen is the Paris-Nice team 1:27 ahead in the time trial, which would have put them on the back foot before the uphill stage in France.

"We're not team trial specialists," said Lachen. That's why we came to Tirreno."