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Italy’s David Ballerini won the sixth stage of the Giro d’Italia after the favorites crashed on the final cobbled sector in Naples.
Rain began to fall as the peloton prepared for a bunch sprint when four riders fell on a cobbled corner, causing chaos and putting France’s Paul Magnier and Italy’s Jonathan Milan out of contention.
Ballerini, 31, of Isle of Man star Mark Cavendish’s former team XDS-Astana, was on the inside in the right-hand corner and slipped through a mess of riders and bikes heading up the hill towards the finish line, holding off the soudal-quick step of Belgium’s Jasper Stuyven.
Stuyven’s team-mate Magnier, who remains in the Cyclamino Point jersey, recovered to third, with British sprint hopefuls NetCompany Inos Cycling’s Ben Turner fifth and NSN Cycling’s Ethan Vernon 19th despite the crash.
The incident was another example of cycling’s bizarre ‘domino effect’ when riders’ bikes are seen to slide out from under them, often meters away, after the first rider hits the floor without contact – possibly due to hasty application of the brakes.
First, Unibet Rose Rocket-equipped Dutch sprinter Dylan Groenwegen hit the deck at the same time as teammate and compatriot Elmer Reinder, before Venezuela’s Movistar’s Orluis Auler fell, followed by Norway’s Decathlon-CMA CGM’s Tobias Lund Andreessen.
All four riders held off a few others to avoid the mess, holding off Ballerini to go from third to first and take the win.
Portugal’s Afonso Eulalio of Bahrain-Victorius remains in the overall leader’s pink jersey. Wednesday’s epic win at Potenza.
He relaxed before the finish thanks to rules that protect riders’ time if they crash within five kilometers of the finish.
The overwhelming favorite for overall victory in Rome on May 31, Denmark’s two-time Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard of Visma-Lijs A Bike is still six minutes 22 seconds down.
But he and the other main contenders for the overall are expected to catch up during Friday’s climb to Blockhouse in the Abruzzo Apennines.
