Tim Merlier won the third stage of the 2024 Giro d'Italia on Monday, pipping Jonathan Milan to the line in a bunch sprint after race leader Tadej Pogacar made a bold attempt to steal victory.

UAE rider Pogacar tried to take his second stage in as many days in the final two kilometers of the 166-kilometer run from Novara to Fossano with a surprising burst, but Merlier claimed his second stage win in the Giro after one in 2021, the same year he took his sole Tour de France stage.

"It was the hardest victory so far," Soudal-Quick-Step's Merlier said. "It was a really hard final. I got to 300 meters, and I said 'you need to go.' I saw Milan was starting his sprint on the left side, and I knew I was going to be first or second, and I'm happy I won this one."

Pogacar is the red-hot favorite to win the Giro at his first attempt and once again was in the thick of the action after storming to victory in Sunday's second stage and only just missing out on Saturday's opener.

The two-time Tour de France champion made his move after following an attack by EF Education-EasyPost's Mikkel Honore. 

For a moment it looked like Pogacar and his pink jersey rival Geraint Thomas would battle it out for the win, but the pair were caught by the peloton near the line, before Merlier claimed the tightest of victories over Milan and Intermarche-Wanty rider Biniam Girmay.

"We tried to keep on going, but I never believed we could make it to the finish," Pogacar said. "In the end, I tried, but 400 meters to the finish is still a long way to go - way too long."

Briton Thomas, a former Tour de France winner, is 46 seconds off the pace in the general classification. The Ineos rider is the only one looking capable of challenging Pogacar for overall victory.

"We just wanted to stay out of trouble," said an exhausted Thomas. "Then I saw Honore and Pog go, and I was like, 'might as well just go,' but jeepers man that was solid, he was kicking my head in. I was just trying to hold his wheel.

"I looked back, and I was surprised that there was such a big gap, but I knew they were going to come. It was a bit different.

"Good start, I'm feeling all right, hopefully I can continue to build."

On Tuesday, the peloton will take on a 190-kilometer slog from Acqui Terme to Andora on the Italian Riviera.

The sprinters should have another chance to shine in a stage that takes on the Capo Mele climb made famous by the Monument race Milan-San Remo.