Results Giro d'Italia 2026 Stage 6 - Davide Ballerini wins crazy and chaotic Napoli sprint after late Groenewegen crash disrupts wet and cobbled finale

Davide Ballerini won stage 6 of the 2026 Giro d’Italia after a chaotic and rain-threatened sprint finish in Napoli, where Dylan Groenewegen crashed in the closing metres and the expected battle between the biggest sprint names was completely disrupted.

The stage had looked set for a high-speed showdown between Paul Magnier, Jonathan Milan, Groenewegen and the rest of the fast men, but the final kilometres became increasingly nervous as the peloton raced towards the technical cobbled finish with rain beginning to fall near the line. Ballerini timed his effort best in the disorder and beat Jasper Stuyven to the stage victory, taking the win after a finale that had been tense long before the crash itself.

After the drama of stage 5, the 141km route from Paestum to Napoli offered the sprinters another opportunity, although the uphill cobbled finale always threatened to complicate the finish. The opening phase was controlled, with little appetite for a major fight to form the break. Alpecin-Premier Tech eventually tried to animate the race through Edward Planckaert and Luca Vergallito, before Mattia Bais of Polti VisitMalta and Bardiani CSF pair Martin Marcellusi and Manuele Tarozzi joined the move.

Planckaert later dropped back on the day’s only categorised climb, leaving an all-Italian quartet out front. Bais took the points over the category four ascent to help protect team-mate Diego Sevilla’s lead in the mountains classification, but the peloton never allowed the move significant space.

Lidl-Trek, Soudal - Quick-Step, Unibet Rose Rockets and Decathlon CMA CGM all contributed to the chase, and the break was brought back with around 37km remaining.

The stage was not without incident before the sprint. A crash near the summit of the climb brought down riders from Red Bull - BORA - hansgrohe and Movistar, with Nico Denz looking shaken after the fall before continuing.

Rain also became a major concern. Showers briefly hit the route and, although the worst appeared to pass ahead of the peloton, the dark clouds over Napoli kept the finish on edge.

After the regrouping, Filippo Magli took the maximum bonus seconds at the Red Bull kilometre, while Lennert Van Eetvelt also got involved and picked up a small time gain. Alec Segaert then tried to attack after the sprint, but the peloton quickly shut him down. From there, the sprint teams began to line up for the technical run into Napoli.

Inside the final 10km, the speed increased sharply as the peloton raced the incoming rain. Unibet Rose Rockets moved into position for Groenewegen, while Soudal - Quick-Step, Lidl-Trek, Groupama-FDJ United and Decathlon CMA CGM also pushed forward through a series of pinch-points and bends.

The first drops of rain were reported near the finish with around 4km to go, adding another layer of danger before the cobbled final section. Unibet still looked well placed under the flamme rouge, with Milan and Magnier close behind, but the sprint never developed cleanly.

Groenewegen crashed in the finale, throwing the sprint into disorder just as the fast men were preparing to launch. Ballerini emerged best from the confusion and held off Stuyven to take the stage win in Napoli. The result denied the expected sprint favourites and delivered another unpredictable finish in a Giro opening week already shaped by crashes.