Vincenzo Nibali (Trek-Segafredo) has long proven that he is the man to go the distance in the Giro d'Italia.

When Nibali beat Geraint Thomas (Ineos) by over a minute and Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) by 40 seconds in the opening time trial in Palermo, the Sicilian rider was expected to have to rely on his famous endurance to make up for early losses in the third week It was expected that he might have to. Instead, Thomas was an unexpected boon on his home road to Mt. Etna on Monday, when the British riders were eliminated one by one.

Thomas' disagreement with the Giro continued when he crashed heavily in the neutral zone of Enna. Yates' crisis was rather surprising, given that his Mitchelton Scott had been leading in the peloton for most of the day. However, he was distanced in the middle of the volcano, and was 3:31 behind a leading group including Nibali, Jakob Fuglsang (Astana), and Steven Kruijswijk (Jumbo Visma).

"I caught a glimpse of Thomas' crash, but when he came back to the peloton he was in front and honestly I didn't think it would be this bad. Same with Yates, although for different reasons," Nibali said, but admitted that the Category 1 climb on day 3 of the Giro is always easy to impress.

"From experience, I wouldn't be surprised to see the damage done by such a hard climb in the first week. Some riders need to feel their way into the race more than others, and if you're not in shape you pay a big price."

Nibali's Trek-Segafredo team was instrumental in setting the tempo for the peloton on the approach to the Ring Agrossa at the foot of Mount Etna. They were able to continue their efforts when Thomas was thrown out of the back of the pack. While the leading group was reduced on the climb, Nibali was always prominent at the front and accelerated a little over 3km to go, helping to further reduce the number of riders.

When Fuglsang attacked shortly after, Nibali was the first to react, followed by Domenico Pozzovivo (NTT), Steven Kruijswijk (Jumbo-Visma), and Rafal Majka (Bora-Hansgrohe). The quintet finished 51 seconds ahead of stage winner and early breakaway leader Jonathan Caicedo (EF Pro Cycling).

In the overall standings, Nibali is in sixth place overall, 55 seconds behind new leader Joan Almeida (Deceuninck-Quick Step). Just 48 hours after the sirocco winds had eliminated the prospect of an overall win, Nibali's view of the Maglia Rosa was completely clear, even though the top of Mount Entente was covered by a cloudburst. [Putting aside his rivals, he could be content to watch his own race.

"It's only the third day of racing. Just as I didn't let up after the time trial, I won't give in easily to enthusiasm now. It's a cliché, but the Grand Tours are built up day by day. On a day like today, I am calm but very focused.