Davide Ballerini won stage six of the Giro d’Italia as a crash on the cobbles took out several sprint specialists near the finish in Naples on Thursday.
Italian Ballerini (XDS Astana Team) comfortably beat Belgium’s Jasper Stuyven (Soudal Quick-Step) on the city centre finish after a flat 142km ride from Paestum. France’s Paul Magnier finished third.
A relatively incident-free stage burst into life in the final kilometres as the sprinters moved into position. With light rain making the surface treacherous, a crash inside the final kilometre took down Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek), Dylan Groenewegen (Unibet Rose Rockets) and several other riders.
Milan questioned the choice of route, saying: “I don’t know why we have to find these complicated finishes, why can’t we go just straight. With two drops of water you get a huge mess. I’m disappointed as I was in a good position.” Groenewegen was more measured: “It was a bit slippery and it can happen. It’s disappointing. Sometimes you have bad luck.”
Ballerini, who avoided the chaos, said: “I was thinking to win one stage in the Giro but today was not actually on the plan. But when the crash happened, I saw a gap and I made it.”
Portugal’s Afonso Eulálio (Bahrain Victorious) retained the pink jersey with a two-minute, 51-second lead over Spain’s Igor Arrieta (UAE Team Emirates XRG). Stage seven from Formia is a 244km route ending with a 13.6km climb to Blockhaus, where race favourite Jonas Vingegaard may make his first big move.
