Mark Cavendish loses Tour of Croatia lead as Giacomo Nizzolo wins stage three

Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data) lost the overall race lead in the Tour of Croatia on Thursday, after placing fourth on stage three behind winner Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek-Segafredo).

The opening three stages of the race have proved to be a battle between Manxman Cavendish and Italian Nizzolo. Nizzolo won the opening stage, with Cavendish second on stage one, then the result was reversed on stage two as Cavendish won and took the overall lead.

Now, Nizzolo moves back into the top spot in the general classification as Cavendish slips to second.

>>> Mark Cavendish wins stage two and takes lead in the Tour of Croatia

A hilly stage three ended in a bunch sprint in Sibenik, with Nizzolo sprinting ahead of Belgian Timothy Dupont (Verandas Willems) in second and Matteo Pelucchi (IAM Cycling) in third.

Attention now turns away from fast finishes in the UCI 2.1-ranked race, with Friday's stage four featuring the race's major test for overall contenders with a mountain-top finish. Saturday's stage could then serve to shake up the general classification once more, with a relatively long 40.3km team time trial.

The 2016 Tour of Croatia concludes on Sunday with one final flat stage, setting up a final confrontation between Cavendish and Nizzolo.

Watch: The top five men's team kits

Tour of Croatia 2016 stage three result

Makarska to Sibenik, 190.8km
1. Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Trek-Segafredo

2. Timothy Dupont (Bel) Verandas Willems

3. Matteo Pelucchi (Ita) IAM Cycling

4. Mark Cavendish (GBr) Dimension Data

5. Nicola Ruffoni (Ita) Bardiani-CSF

6. Roman Maikin (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo

7. Coen Vermeltfoort (Ned) Cyclingteam De Rijke

8. Ioannis Tamouridis (Gre) Synergy Baku

9. Paolo Simon (Ita) Bardiani-CSF

10. Marco Benfatto (Ita) Androni Giocattoli all same time

General classification after stage three

1. Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) Trek-Segafredo

2. Mark Cavendish (GBr) Dimension Data at 10 secs

3. Timothy Dupont (Bel) Willems Verandas at 16 secs

4. Mark Renshaw (Aus) Dimension Data at 20 secs

5. Matteo Pelucchi (Ita) IAM Cycling at 22 secs

6. Nicola Ruffoni (Ita) Bardiani-CSF at 23 secs

7. Alexey Kurbatov (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo at 25 secs

8. Ioannis Tamouridis (Gre) Synergy Baku at 26 secs

9. Coen Vermeltfoort (Ned) Cyclingteam De Rijke at 26 secs

10. Roman Maikin (Rus) Gazprom-Rusvelo at 26 secs