Norwegian Edvald Boasson Hagen of Team Sky has won the third stage of Tirreno-Adriatico in a sprint finish following a 178km ride from Indicatore to Terni.

Australian Matthew Goss of GreenEdge finished safely in the pack on Friday to hold onto the leader’s blue jersey.

German Andre Griepel finished second with Slovakian Peter Sagan in third.

It was the second day in a row that Sky claimed the stage victory following world champion Mark Cavendish’s success in Thursday’s second stage.

Italian Filippo Savini was the star of the day, setting off on a long solo break as soon as the official race began but he was caught with 30km left.

Garmin tried to launch American sprinter Tyler Farrar, who was third on Thursday, but Boasson Hagen proved the strongest man in the sprint.

The fourth stage on Saturday is a gruelling 252km leg from Amelia to Chieti featuring three climbs, including an uphill finish, which will likely produce a new leader.

“I think tomorrow is a little bit too hard for me,” said Goss, who holds a three-second lead over GreenEdge teammate and fellow Australian Stuart O’Grady.

Goss took the lead when GreenEdge won the opening team time trial.

The race ends Tuesday with a 9.3km individual time trial in San Benedetto del Tronto, on the Adriatic coast.

Many riders use the race as a warm-up for the Milan-San Remo, the season’s opening single-day classic, on March 17.

Cavendish set himself up as the early favourite for San Remo with his victory on Thursday, but he suggested Boasson Hagen could also be a contender.

“It was better for Boasson Hagen today,” said Cavendish, who won in San Remo in 2009. “The team is strong. It could be me or it could be him.”