The cover story of the 2025 Giro d'Italia after the first three stages in Albania is certainly Mads Pedersen. Thanks to his 2 stage wins, current leadership in the general classification, becoming the first Danish rider ever to wear the pink jersey, bringing his nation's total Giro stage wins to 16, his 4 World Tour victories in 2025 (6 total this season) and 8 Grand Tour wins in his career.

The last rider to win two of the first three stages was Italian Viviani in 2018, while to find a non-Italian cyclist achieving a double in the first three days, we must go back to what the German Kittel did in 2016. In the first 3 stages of this edition, Italian cycling has secured 10 top-ten placements, without any podium finishes.

Mads Pedersen was the 80th cyclist to win the opening stage, considering the 97 individual stages that have opened the 108 Giro editions. The best in this regard remains Italian Francesco Moser with 4 wins in the first stage of the Giro. Out of the 97 individual stages that have started the race, 62 have been won by Italians.

With the 3 stages disputed in Albania, 44 individual Giro stages have now been held with both start and finish located abroad (not necessarily at the beginning of the edition). Italians have won just 9 of these (20.45% of the total). The last joy in this sense remains the double signed by Elia Viviani in 2018 in Israel.

Source www.ciclopico.it - full article and other statistical curiosities at the link https://ciclopico.it/grandi-giri/giro-ditalia/statistiche-giro-ditalia-2025-tappe-3/