Michael Matthews had a stressful first day as race leader in the Giro d'Italia as he went down in a crash 80km from the line. Despite failing to make an impact in the final sprint, the Australian claims to be fine and has now set his sights on Wednesday's stage.

ORICA-GreenEDGE’s Michael Matthews survived a hectic day in the maglia rosa on day three of the Giro d’Italia, finishing on the same time as stage winner Marcel Kittel (Giant Shimano). Sixteenth out of a front bunch of 32 riders, Matthews made the split in the peloton in a highly technical finale. He remains in the race lead by eight seconds over Alessandro Petacchi (Omega Pharma – Quick-Step) as the Giro heads home to Italy.

“It was a really crazy day,” said Matthews. “I almost expected a few crashes here and there. A few of our guys went down – me included – but luckily we were able to defend the jersey. I wasn’t able to get up there in the sprint, but it was mission accomplished for us today.”

“It couldn’t have gone that much better for us in these first three days,” said Sport Director Matt White. “Obviously we would have liked better stage results on the last two road stages, but the most important thing was to get the jersey and keep it, and we ticked those boxes.”

As the usual order of a sprint stage dictates, a breakaway of five dominated the early action. King of the Mountain Maarten Tjallingii (Belkin) jumped into the break in a bid to increase his advantage in the mountains classification. He was joined by Giorgio Cecchinel (Neri Sottoli – Yellow Fluo), Gert Dockx (Lotto Belisol), Yonder Godoy (Androni Giocattoli) and Miguel Angel Rubiano Chavez (Colombia).

The Australian outfit assumed its rightful place at the head of peloton, setting a tempo to keep the breakaway in check. All was going according to plan until a crash sent several of the team’s riders onto the pavement. Matthews, Michael Hepburn and Brett Lancaster hit the deck. Nearly an hour later, Cameron Meyer was involved in a pile-up as well.

“The road narrowed with about 80 kilometres, and that’s when the crash happened,” said Matthews. “Unfortunately, I was just behind it, and I ended up over the top of it. I’m fine – just a little banged up.”

Cannondale and Giant-Shimano finished off the work started by ORICA-GreenEDGE, pulling back the breakaway inside the closing kilometres. Matthews lost places in the final kilometre and was not well-positioned to contest the final. Kittel took the stage win from Ben Swift (Team Sky) and Elia Viviani (Cannondale).

“The number one goal was to keep the jersey,” said White. “We got that done. It’s been a very stressful days for most of the teams. I think we’re all pretty happy to leave here in one piece and start back down in Italy in 36 hours.”

“The next stage into Bari is a straightforward circuit course, which is another good stage for Michael,” Wite added. “The stage after that is probably his best chance for a stage win. It’s an uphill finish with a Cat 4 that we see twice on a little circuit beforehand. After that, it’s a long stage – 240 kilometres – with quite a hard eight kilometre climb to the finish. That’s where we’d look to Pieter Weening or Ivan Santaromita. We plan to keep this pink jersey as long as possible.”

Despite the stress in the final two hours of racing, Matthews made the most of his day in the maglia rosa, soaking up the incredible atmosphere the Irish created.

“The crowds out there were unreal,” said Matthews. “Everybody out there made it even more special to wear the pink jersey. I think the entire peloton has been blown away by the support up here. It’s been a dream start for us. We can’t wait to wear the jersey in Italy.

“It was incredible. I was thankful that the weather was pretty much OK at the start, and I could wear my long sleeve jersey and show off my pink jersey and pink bike. Everyone was shouting for me. I still can’t believe it after wearing it all day and I’ll be so happy to wear it in Italy the day after tomorrow.

"Winning stage one as a team, as opposed to an individual stage, brought the whole team spirit up. Then for Svein [Tuft] to wear the jersey yesterday and for me to wear it today, we showed that we’re keen to ride at the front and show ourselves.

"Some of the guys don’t really realise it’s really happening, as if this doesn’t happen to teams like ours. But it is happening, and we’re really living the dream at the moment.

“My career [as a professional cyclist] started really well after winning the World Championships in Melbourne in 2010. I won my first stage in my first Pro Tour race, then I won 2 or 3 races in Europe, then I lost my way a little bit, because I was forgetting to focus on the small things, sleeping and eating right and doing everything down to the wire.

"In pro cycling, everyone’s at about the same level, so those 1 or 2 per cent extra are the difference between winning and losing. I’m doing those things now, and I’m getting the results.

“Kittel is pretty incredible on the flat stages. He’s shown that he’s the fastest man in the world. With form that he has, and the lead out that he has, yeah, he’s pretty unbeatable. I but I think when it starts to get a bit hilly, it’ll take some of his top-end power off him and someone like me might be able to have a go.”

“For me, it’s been quite surprising to see the level of support of the people here,” added White. “When the Tour goes anywhere outside of France, you expect that. Northern Ireland doesn’t have a big cycling culture, but the people have gotten behind the Giro in the last couple days of racing.”