Matthews fends off Pedersen to win stage three of Giro d'Italia

Australian Michael Matthews timed his final effort to perfection to win a rain-affected stage three at the Giro d'Italia on Monday, following a 216km ride from Vasto to Melfi.

Matthews and Mads Pedersen were neck and neck until the final corner, but the Australian, who was set up perfectly by his Jayco-AlUla team - including Ireland's Eddie Dunbar - moved in front on the home straight to emerge victorious.

Dunbar dropped off with less than a kilometre to go after helping to lay some important groundwork for Matthews.

Trek-Segafredo's Pedersen finished second, ahead of Kaden Groves [Alpecin-Deceuninck] and Vincenzo Albanese [EOLO-Kometa].

Corratec-Selle Italia riders Alexander Konychev and Veljko Stojnic were the early pace-setters, leading the stage for the first half of the race, before being reeled in by the main group with 36km to go.

Tuesday's stage four is a 175km ride from Venosa to Lago Laceno, which features two long and manageable ascents before culminating in a steep climb and a flat finish.