Ballerini surprises in Naples as sprinters wiped out in chaotic finish on Giro stage 6

Davide Ballerini (XDS Astana) claimed his first Giro d'Italia stage win on stage 6 in Naples, outsprinting Jasper Stuyven (Soudal Quick-Step) after most of the sprinters were wiped out of contention on the final corner.

For the fifth consecutive year, Naples hosted a stage finish of the Giro, and with the chaos in recent visits and a technical finish on the horizon with a threat of rain, it was expected to be a dramatic finale.

There was to be a ferocious battle on the run-in to the finish line in Naples, with Unibet Rose Rockets delivering the near-perfect leadout before many riders were wiped out on the final slippery cobbled corner. 

Ballerini and Stuyven were able to make it through in front of the crash, and it was an uphill drag race between the duo as the road rose to the finish. Ballerini started in front and remained there despite Stuyven's best efforts to come past. Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step) who was held up by the crash, managed to bounce back for third place.

There were no riders initially willing to make a move when the flag dropped, but after a stalemate, the Alpecin-Premier Tech duo of Luca Vergallito and Edward Planckaert decided to make a move, with word from the Alpecin team car suggesting that the duo were bored.

The duo would eventually be joined by Mattia Bais (Polti VisitMalta), Martin Marcellusi and Manuele Tarozzi (Bardiani CSF 7 Saber), before Planckaert decided to end his effort, returning to the peloton.

There was a crash in the peloton with 100km remaining when Nico Denz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) slipped out on a corner alongside his teammate and compatriot Ben Zwiehoff and Nelson Oliveira.

Denz looked the most impacted, with the German clearly dazed by the incident, landing headfirst, but following roadside concussion checks by the race doctor, he was deemed fit to continue the race. 

There was a competitive battle for the Red Bull KM with 24km to go, with Filippo Magli (Bardiani CSF 7 Saber) coming out victorious. 

Alec Segaert (Bahrain-Victorious) used this as an opportunity to sneak clear of the peloton, raising alarm bells for the sprinters’ teams due to the Belgian’s time trial prowess. However, the move was dealt with almost immediately. 

From here, attention turned to the impending sprint finish in Naples, with the fight for position inside the final 20km ahead of an explosive sprint battle.

Unibet Rose Rockets took control with 5km remaining, and the ProTeam continued to lead under the flamme rouge, with Decathlon, Quick-Step and Lidl-Trek all in the mix too. 

However, a mass crash on the final corner threw the ultimate spanner in the works