After the bunch sprint was turned on its head at the end of stage six of the Giro d’Italia by a section of damp cobbles in Naples, the choice of finish was called out by Italian sprinter Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek).
At least five riders slid out on the tight right-hander in sight of the line, including a well-placed Dylan Groenewegen (Unibet Rose Rockets) in second wheel and his lead-out man. Nearly all of the best-placed stage-win hopefuls either came down or were baulked, though Davide Ballerini made it through and sprinted ahead to an unexpected win.
“Luckily I didn’t crash, I was able to stand on my bike,” he said, his tone characteristically thoughtful – and disappointed too – rather than reactive and angry. “But they crashed in front of me. It’s not their fault, I mean we know it will be super slippery if it rains on these kind of cobbles.
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