Giro d’Italia Stage 6 Race Report: Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) won a wet Stage 6 of the Giro d’Italia. The stage was partly neutralised due to a crash that put most of the peloton on the ground. After a restart, the Australian was the fastest at the finish in Napoli. There was no change to the overall classification, as the race jury decided that all finishers would receive the same time. Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) didn’t contest the sprint, but held onto his leader’s pink jersey.
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Stage 6 finale
The sixth stage from Potenza to Naples is a long day in the saddle at 206 kilometres, it has a tough first 145km with the Valico di Monte Caruozzo (19.9km at 3.8%) and Monteforte Irpino (11km at 3.4%). These climbs should inspire attackers who want to get in the ‘break of the day’, which could go all the way to the finish.
The last 82 kilometres of the stage are almost flat and the sprinter’s team should pull things back together before Napoli. Olav Kooij and Mads Pedersen won in Naples in 2024 and 2023.
At the start of another day for the sprinters
There were a lot of attacks from the start of the stage. Joshua Tarling (INEOS Grenadiers) and Taco van der Hoorn (Intermarché-Wanty) wanted to be in the break, but they missed a move of seven riders. Tarling counterattacked, which kept the pace high in the peloton led by Visma | Lease a Bike. After 30 kilometres, everything came together again.
Careful where you throw that bottle, Mags
Van der Hoorn saw his chance. The Dutch rider attacked and was joined by Enzo Paleni (Groupama-FDJ). They quickly built up a lead of 3 minutes, but there was a reaction behind. KOM, Lorenzo Fortunato wanted to take the points on the Valico di Monte Caruozzo (19.9km at 3.8%), a Cat 2 climb. He was first joined by Lucas Hamilton, but then went after Van der Hoorn and Paleni on his own. He joined them before the summit and was the first over the top for the 18 points.
The ‘break of the day’: Taco Van Der Hoorn (Intermarche-Wanty) and Enzo Paleni (Groupama-FDJ)
Having taken the KOM points, Fortunato, dropped back to the peloton and so Van der Hoorn and Paleni were the stage leaders again. Their lead, At one point they had 5 minutes, but this was brought down to 2 minutes. In the peloton, Alpecin-Deceuninck and Visma | Lease a Bike controlled the race for Kaden Groves and Olav Kooij. The Dutch sprinter also contested an intermediate sprint, but Jensen Plowright was faster. Mads Pedersen came through third in the peloton.
The peloton were not too interested in the chase
The weather was the big problem today, not the hills
After rain and slippy roads caused a lot of crashes the race was neutralised – The bunch was stopped
The break was also stopped
The stage would be restarted with the break having a lead of 50 seconds
A big win by a big margin for Kaden Groves
Stage winner, Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck): “First win of the year, it’s a big relief. The team has believed in me. It hasn’t been a great start of the season. With the injury I missed a lot of racing. That’s why I came to the Giro without any win. We’ve had to use a few guys early to chase. The two breakaway guys did a super ride. With the help of two teammates at the I could slip back a few places. I launched the sprint early but I was quite confident. I felt better when it started raining. It’s super nice to win here in Napoli, an iconic city. For a sprinter it’s a dream to win here.”
Not a normal stage – But a win is a win for Groves
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Giro d’Italia Stage 6 Result:
1. Kaden Groves (Aus) Alpecin-Deceuninck in 4:59:52
2. Milan Fretin (Bel) Cofidis
3. Paul Magnier (Fra) Soudal Quick-Step
4. Max Kanter (Ger) XDS Astana
5. Giovanni Lonardi (Ita) Polti VisitMalta
6. Maikel Zijlaard (Ned) Tudor
7. Martin Marcellusi (Ita) VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizanè
8. Matteo Moschetti (Ita) Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team
9. Luca Mozzato (Ita) Arkéa-B&B Hotels
10. Matevz Govekar (Slo) Bahrain Victorious.
Giro d’Italia Overall After Stage 6:
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