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Pivvi di Soligo, Italy, May 28 (Reuters Sports Service) - Frenchman Paul Magnier won stage 18 of the Giro d'Italia on Thursday, securing his third victory in this year's edition of the race.

With the help of his Soudal Quick-Step teammate Jasper Stuyven in the final high-speed turns, he surged towards the finish line ahead of two Italian competitors.

Eduardo Zampanini (Bahrain Victorious) finished second, and Jonathan Millan (Lidl-Trek) came in third.

Magnier had won the first and third stages in Bulgaria, topping the points standings.

Jonas Vingard launched an attack on the final climb, but only managed a place in the main group to maintain his substantial lead in the overall standings.

Denmark's Vingard, riding for Visma-Lys Abike and seeking to complete his set of major race victories, leads the overall standings by four minutes and three seconds with three stages to go.

The competition intensified in the 171-kilometer stage after the main group joined the leading quartet of Mattia Paes and Andrea Mifsud (Bolty-Visit Malta), Jonas Ghins (Alpsen-Premier Tech), and James Shaw (EF Education-Easy Boost) with about 25 kilometers to go.

The 1.1-kilometer-long Il Morro de Ca del Poggio, with a gradient of 19 percent, presented a difficult obstacle at the end of the stage, and for a while it seemed that Vingard might win the stage.

Afonso Eulalio, the former overall leader, who recovered from an accident earlier today, also sensed that the opportunity was there.

But in the end, the competition was limited to the sprint specialists, and the Soudal Quick-Step team played its part perfectly, as Stoefen led his teammate Magnier to the final difficult turn, giving his young teammate the perfect path to launch towards the finish line.

Magnier said, "I was very confident this morning. My teammates made it a sprint race, and I'm very happy with the win. Jasper did a great job."