"You can't blame the organisers" - Adam Blythe and Matt Stephens defend frantic Giro d'Italia finish amid Jonathan Milan fury

Jonathan Milan blasted Giro d'Italia organisers after a crash-marred final sprint saw riders navigate a technical finale and wet weather in a cobbled run to the line. The Italian sprinter missed out on battling for victory after he and multiple riders were caught behind a crash.

Rainy conditions once again wreaked havoc on the battle for the stage with Stage 6 into Napoli already been flagged as a nervous finish, with cobbles, corners and pinch points. Unibet Rose Rockets fast man Dylan Groenewegen crashed in the final bend, dashing Milan and other riders' chances as they were held up.

It was Davide Ballerini who found himself in the winning position among the riders who survived, leading to Milan launching a furious criticism as he expressed his frustrations. As fans and pundits reacted to the Italian's comments, TNT Sports Analyst Adam Blythe certainly understood his comments.

”It is a difficult one, I feel for Jonny. I understand his point of view and it is completely valid. It did rain, it doesn’t rain down there that often,” Blythe said on TNT Sports coverage after the stage finish.

In a debate with fellow analyst Matt Stephens, the pair defended the organisers. With weather difficult to forecast, the pair noted that race routes are designed to create drama and that the finish itself offered a wide road and that weather conditions did prove a factor in the finale.

Blythe continued: ”But we are in the entertainment industry, bike racing is entertainment and that finish, with the uphill in the dry would have been entertaining. You can’t blame the organisers for wanting a bit of drama. I’m sure none of them wanted a crash but it is part of bike racing.

”You can’t just pick motorways and straight roads to race on just because it might be raining in a year’s time… If he stays upright, he wouldn’t be complaining then.”

Stephens empathised with Milan but echoed Bltythe, adding: ”[Milan’s] chances of winning a stage in this race are ebbing away. But I do admire that he said it calmly. There is some validity in 'yes, why do we need to hype up a finish like this?'.”

”I do understand, it is a beautiful city, but time and time again we have finished in the same place, so we need to be creative with finishes. Credit to the organisers for [trying] a bit of the Classics thrown in.

”But there will always be an element of danger in the wet finish anywhere, and it is bike racing. I don’t think we can criticise the race organisers too much, as it was a wide finish. It was only the weather that was really going to change things.”