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PREVIEW | Giro d'Italia 2023 stage 6 - Hilly day likely to see fourth bunch sprint
CyclingThursday, 11 May 2023 at 09:49
Preview. It was a day without much action but a lot of drama. Stage 6 will be a day for the peloton at the Giro d'Italia to gather itself after many crashes and the sprinters should have another opportunity.
After it's 2022 success where Thomas de Gendt, Mathieu van der Poel and Biniam Girmay protagonized an explosive breakaway stage, Napoli is set to host another stage at the Giro d'Italia. It won't feature the same local circuit however, and is expected to be a day for the fast men - although breakaways could very well succeed aswell.
Estimated start and finish times for Giro d'Italia stage 6: 12:55-17:15CET
Stage 6: Napoli - Napoli, 162.6Km
The day is far from flat. The sprinters could have their opportunity but they must work for it. The climb to Valico di Chiunzi opens things up, it's 8.3 kilometers at 6.2%. It's far from the finish but sees another hilltop and technical descent right after. The riders then ride through the Amalfi Coast, familiar to fans likely for other reasons, but here some riders may suffer. The roads are not flat, and even passing by the small towns the riders will need to be climbing.
The riders leave the coast and begin to climb towards the summit of Picco Sant'Angelo, which summits with 65 kilometers to go. It's 9 kilometers at 4% and the descent into Sorrento is very technical, directly into the intermediate sprint. There will be another hilltop with 37 kilometers to go, 2 kilometers at 5.6%, but the rest of the approach to the line is flat.
Valico di Chiunzi: 8.3Km; 6.2%; 113Km to go
The riders fly through the center of Napoli, they will race close to the coast the whole way into the finish line in what will be a nervous finale. There will be corner with 2.4 and 2.2 kilometers that will stretch things out, and another with 1.7 kilometers which will be tricky. Just outside the final kilometer there will be a slight chicane but the finale is then very fast and uninterrupted.
Stage 6 Finale
The Weather
Giro d'Italia 2023 stage 6
The riders are likely to have a wet start, but luckily it seems as if it'll stop throughout the day. The wind will blow from the west and it will make for some tension towards the final part of the stage, however the roads are likely to be wet in the technical descents the riders will face. Not the same as today, but I can't say it'll be a calm day for anyone.
The Favourites
Kaden Groves - He was the fastest today and clearly has the speed. Groves has shown the legs to go through the climbs, and even though he crashed today near the finale he still rode to victory proving great form. He won't likely be dropped at any point, it's a matter of getting through the finale.
Mads Pedersen - Perfect mix of climbing and sprinting speed. He's so far not been present in one of the sprints, then finished second and third. He's on the right track but hasn't put all of the pieces of the puzzle together yet. That can prove costly if he wants to take a win, but this will be another good opportunity.
Michael Matthews - Jayco did not push the pace today in the climbs, but then did in the flat terrain. Very weird tactics in my opinion, which I can not understand. This is another day that will suit him very well and Jayco should ally with Trek (and possibly Alpecin) to try and take another win but at least boost chances of fighting for points classification. If they opt not to he won't be a contender to the win.
Vincenzo Albanese and Magnus Cort Nielsen could prove to be allies if the pace is pushed. I have a hard time believing after today that that will happen, however it's not everyday that you can fight for a win at a Grand Tour and they could try to improve their chances. Filippo Fiorelli looked badly injured today and I doubt he'll be able to contend for tomorrow's stage.
But what if the riders take it easy once again, it could pan out to be another regular bunch sprint. Stage 6 in my eyes is almost identical to stage 5 in that sense, it has a very difficult middle section, technical descents and likely wet roads. However riders didn't seem to want to risk anything in a breakaway, and no team looked to push on the climbs. In that sense the pure fast men stand better chances. Jonathan Milan would be a big favourite taking into consideration what he's shown today.
Alberto Dainese, Marius Mayrhofer, Pascal Ackermann, David Dekker, Simone Consonni, Niccolò Bonifazio, Arne Marit, Jake Stewart and Nicolas Dalla Valle will all be riders to watch. Crashes today have shown how easily things can change in the final meters and they could all feature in the finale.
As for the breakaway's chances I stand my ground, I will name virtually the same riders because I believe the stage suits the same type of rider and once again they could have big chances of succeeding. The question is will they try? Ben Healy, Stefan Küng, Bruno Armirail, Samuele Battistella, Simone Velasco, Alberto Bettiol, Sven Erik Bystom and Simon Clarke are the ones that come to mind the quickest, and most have in my opinion one of their best opportunities to succeed here.
Prediction Giro d'Italia 2023 stage 6:
*** Kaden Groves, Jonathan Milan
** Mads Pedersen
* Alberto Dainese, Vincenzo Albanese, Alberto Dainese, Simone Consonni
** Mads Pedersen
* Alberto Dainese, Vincenzo Albanese, Alberto Dainese, Simone Consonni
Pick: Kaden Groves
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