SOFIA, Bulgaria (AP) — Paul Magnier won a bunch sprint to make it two wins out of three at this year’s Giro d’Italia, while Uruguayan cyclist Guillermo Silva remained in the overall lead on Sunday as the race prepares to return to Italy.
Magnier edged out Jonathan Milan by half a wheel, with Dyland Groenewegen millimeters behind in third. So close was the finish that Magnier initially raised his hand in celebration then immediately put it down and seemed uncertain as to whether he had actually won.
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France's Paul Magnier wins the third stage of the Giro d'Italia cycling race, from Plovdiv to Sofia, Bulgaria, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (Massimo Paolone /LaPresse via AP)
France's Paul Magnier, center, wins the third stage of the Giro d'Italia cycling race, from Plovdiv to Sofia, Bulgaria, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (Massimo Paolone /LaPresse via AP)
France's Paul Magnier wins the third stage of the Giro d'Italia cycling race, from Plovdiv to Sofia, Bulgaria, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (Gian Mattia d'Alberto/LaPresse via AP)
The pack rides during the third stage of the Giro d'Italia cycling race, from Plovdiv to Sofia, Bulgaria, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (Fabio Ferrari/LaPresse via AP)
The French cyclist also claimed victory in Friday’s opening stage.
“I dreamed about it and it was the goal to go for the stage again and the team did an amazing job again,” said Magnier, who rides for Soudal Quick-Step. “And then I was not really sure to win the stage, to be honest. I celebrate and then I say ‘oh, I’m not sure’ but in the end I won, so I’m really happy.
“Now I have to say that I feel really good and I can be with the best sprinters in the world, so I will try to enjoy this moment and keep going like this with the team.”
Sunday’s third stage was a 175-kilometer route from Plovdiv — one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Europe — to the Bulgarian capital of Sofia.
Diego Pablo Sevilla, Alessandro Tonelli and Manuele Tarozzi attacked from the start and it appeared as if the three-man breakaway was going to contest the finish, but they were mopped up with the line in sight.
It was the third and final stage in Bulgaria before Monday’s rest day as the Giro moves to Italy. Tuesday’s fourth stage is a 138-kilometer route from Catanzaro, in the foot of Italy, to Cosenza.
Silva, who on Saturday became the first Uruguayan to win a Giro stage and lead the race, will wear the maglia rosa.
The 24-year-old Silva, who rides for XDS Astana, is four seconds ahead of German rider Florian Stork and Italian climbing specialist Giulio Ciccone.
“The team is extremely supportive and wanted me to keep this jersey going into the rest day. So we’re going to enjoy it,” Silva said.
“Today was just unbelievable. Every moment, people were looking at me and I still can’t quite believe it. We’ll try to hold onto it (the leader's jersey) for as long as possible and it’s very nice to carry it to Italy.”
The 109th men’s Giro ends on May 31 in Rome.
The women’s Giro runs from May 30-June 7 with Italian rider Elisa Longo Borghini as the defending champion.
AP cycling: https://apnews.com/hub/cycling
France's Paul Magnier wins the third stage of the Giro d'Italia cycling race, from Plovdiv to Sofia, Bulgaria, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (Massimo Paolone /LaPresse via AP)
France's Paul Magnier, center, wins the third stage of the Giro d'Italia cycling race, from Plovdiv to Sofia, Bulgaria, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (Massimo Paolone /LaPresse via AP)
France's Paul Magnier wins the third stage of the Giro d'Italia cycling race, from Plovdiv to Sofia, Bulgaria, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (Gian Mattia d'Alberto/LaPresse via AP)
The pack rides during the third stage of the Giro d'Italia cycling race, from Plovdiv to Sofia, Bulgaria, Sunday, May 10, 2026. (Fabio Ferrari/LaPresse via AP)
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran has sent its response to the latest U.S. ceasefire proposal via Pakistani mediators and wants negotiations to focus on permanently ending the war, Iran’s state-run media said Sunday. Pakistan confirmed receiving it.
Iran seeks to end the war on all fronts, including in Lebanon, where Israel fights the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group, and to ensure the security of shipping, its state TV said. Washington’s latest proposal addressed a deal to end the war, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and roll back Iran’s nuclear program, an issue that Tehran would rather discuss later.
The White House had no immediate comment about Iran’s reply. President Donald Trump is giving diplomacy “every chance we possibly can before going back to hostilities,” the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, told ABC.
Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not been seen or heard publicly since the war began, “issued new and decisive directives for the continuation of operations and the powerful confrontation with the enemies” while meeting with the head of the joint military command, the state broadcaster reported, with no details.
Meanwhile, the fragile ceasefire was tested when a drone ignited a small fire on a ship off Qatar and the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait reported drones entering their airspace. The UAE blamed Iran. No casualties were reported, and no one immediately claimed responsibility.
Qatar's Foreign Ministry called it a “dangerous and unacceptable escalation that threatens the security and safety of maritime trade routes and vital supplies in the region."
Iran and armed allied groups like Hezbollah in Lebanon have used drones to carry out hundreds of strikes since the war began with U.S. and Israeli attacks on Feb. 28.
Trump has reiterated threats to resume full-scale bombing if Iran does not accept an agreement to reopen the strait and roll back its nuclear program. Iran has largely blocked the strategic waterway that's key to the global flow of oil, natural gas and fertilizer since the war began, rattling world markets.
The U.S. in turn has blockaded Iranian ports and on Friday struck two Iranian oil tankers it said were trying to breach the blockade. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard navy says any attack on Iranian oil tankers or commercial vessels would be met with a “heavy assault” on one of the U.S. bases in the region and enemy ships.
The American military said Sunday that it has turned back 61 commercial vessels and disabled four since the blockade began April 13.
Another sticking point in negotiations is Iran’s highly enriched uranium. The U.N. nuclear agency says Iran has more than 440 kilograms (970 pounds) of uranium that is enriched up to 60% purity, a short, technical step from weapons-grade levels.
In an interview with state media posted late Saturday, an Iranian military spokesperson said its forces were on “full readiness” to protect nuclear sites where uranium is stored.
“We considered it possible that they might intend to steal it through infiltration operations or heli-borne operations,” Brig. Gen. Akrami Nia told the IRNA news agency.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in an excerpt of an interview with CBS scheduled to air later Sunday said the war isn't over because the enriched uranium needs to be taken out of Iran. “Trump has said to me, ‘I want to go in there,’ and I think it can be done physically,” he said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Saturday that Moscow’s proposal to take enriched uranium from Iran to help negotiate a settlement remains on the table.
The majority of Iran’s highly enriched uranium is likely at its Isfahan nuclear complex, the International Atomic Energy Agency director-general told The Associated Press last month. The facility was bombarded by U.S.-Israeli airstrikes in the 12-day war last year and faced less intense attacks this year.
Pakistan oversaw face-to-face talks between the U.S. and Iran last month and continues to pursue mediation. In rare public comments, army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir said Islamabad remains committed to helping end the conflict. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif spoke by phone with his Qatari counterpart.
The UAE's Defense Ministry said it shot down two drones and blamed Iran.
In Kuwait, Defense Ministry spokesperson Brig. Gen. Saud Abdulaziz Al Otaibi said hostile drones entered Kuwait’s airspace and forces responded “in accordance with established procedures.” The ministry did not say where the drones came from.
Qatar's Defense Ministry said a drone targeted a commercial ship coming from Abu Dhabi, setting a small fire that was extinguished. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Center said the attack happened 23 nautical miles (43 kilometers) northeast of the capital, Doha. It gave no details about the ship’s owner or origin, and there was no claim of responsibility.
Several attacks against ships in the Persian Gulf have occurred over the past week, and a U.S. effort to “guide” ships through the strait was soon paused.
South Korea announced initial findings from a investigation that said two unidentified airborne objects struck the South Korean-operated vessel HMM NAMU about one minute apart while it was anchored in the Strait of Hormuz last week, causing an explosion and fire. A foreign ministry spokesperson said officials have yet to determine who was responsible.
Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writers Munir Ahmed in Islamabad; Melanie Lidman in Tel Aviv, Israel; Tong-hyung Kim in Seoul; Julia Frankel in Jerusalem; and Josh Boak in Washington contributed to this report.
Container ships sit at anchor in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Saturday, May 2, 2026.(Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA via AP)
