DSM botch dash to the line as sprint ambitions remain unsuccessful

Team DSM have been having far from a good season up to now, with their sprinters Alberto Dainese and Cees Bol largely unsuccessful after the potential they have shown over the last few years. Today at the Giro d'Italia they were in contention for the top places, but a chaotic clash alongside Fernando Gaviria pushed them out of contention.

Team DS Matt Winston was positive however after the stage, in a situation where the glass was half full: "I think we were in a really good position coming into the finale. The guys protected the bubble in a really good way which I was super happy with. In the finish it was a chaotic sprint but we kept finding each other which is really positive."

However in the final kilometer things didn't work as smoothly. Alberto Dainese was leading Cees Bol through the right side of the group, however as Dainese swung over he blocked Cees Bol, alongside Fernando Gaviria who tried to find a space between them. Sure enough, the Colombian was relegated, whilst Bol was largely more affected by Gaviria's move, but the lack of results in yet another sprint comes as another blow to the confidence of the duo.

"Alberto was doing a really good lead out and it seemed like there was a bit of a coming together there in the closing stages and unfortunately it stopped us being able to sprint for a result with Cees," Winston said. Despite having both it's cards, the duo isn't being able to provide the results this year, with no wins to show and not many days where they were in contention for a top result. With three bunch sprints out of the way, DSM are starting to run out of opportunities to grab a win in one of the flat stages, as they now focus their full attention on Romain Bardet's GC ambitions.