2019 Giro d'Italia Stage 6 Results & Recap
Stage 6 of the 2019 Giro d'Italia is in the books. The final results and standings are below, followed by our recap of how the race unfolded.
Race Recap
Italian tandem on the first uphill finish of the Giro
After six days, cycling fans were finally treated to an uphill finish, and it was the Italian fans who had most to celebrate. From the early break, Androni’s Fausto Masnada took a dominant stage victory with United Emirate’s Valerio Conti in tow to take the pink jersey. The peloton including former classification leader Primoz Roglic (TJV) crossed the line more than seven minutes later.
The stage from Cassino to San Giovanni Rotondo was the longest stage so far, in an opening week not short on long days. Before the start, Primoz Roglic had already signalled his team’s intentions for the race: “Why not lose the Maglia Rosa? It looks like a good stage for the breakaway to succeed.”. As such, the fight to get into the day’s break was a tough one – despite numerous attempts, the definite breakaway only left after 50 kilometres into the stage. The going was complicated by a large crash, which saw both Roglic and Majka (BOH) hit the tarmac. All riders involved quickly got back on bike, although Sunweb’s Robert Power was forced to abandon several kilometres later. Laurens Ten Dam (CPT) abandoned as well, although his injuries were caused by a crash several days ago.
When the break finally got away, it consisted of thirteen riders: Conti (UAD), Plaza (ICA), Conci (TFS), Serry (DQS), Masnada (AND), Carboni (BAR), Madouas (GFC), Bagioli (NIP), Peters (ALM), Antunes (CPT), Oomen (SUN) Rojas and Amador (MOV). In the peloton, Jumbo Visma was left to set the pace without help. Although the formation seems indecisive for a while, keeping the lead group at a steady five and a half minute and chasing that gap down to four at one point during the stage, by the time the lead reached the climb to Coppa Casarinelle, the gap was significant.
On this fifteen kilometre climb, the thirteen in front first began looking at each other. They had been working together well, but now riders began skipping their turns at the front. It wasn’t long until undisputed man of form Fausto Masnada lit the fireworks, and skipped off without his fellow escapees: eleven kilometres from the summit, about thirty kilometres from the stage finish, the twenty-five year old from Bergamo went on the attack, taking only Valerio Conti with him in his wheel. Although the move was made very early, Masnada powered all the way up the climb, never requiring his companion to take over. Behind, the chase group proved ineffective and the longer Masnada and Conti kept their advantage, the more disorganised the chase became. It was Ruben Plaza who made the strongest move to bridge – the experienced baroudeur is still excruciatingly close to completing the triple challenge of stage wins in the Tour, Vuelta and Giro d’Italia. Plaza was joined by another wily Spaniard Rojas and young Italian rider Carboni, who stood to take the white jersey.
Once over the top of the Coppa Casarinelle, the duo in front began cooperating in earnest, and there was nothing the three chasers –or the bigger chase group behind them – could do to catch up. The strongest of the day on uphill sections, Masnada, sprinted dominantly to the stage win, while Valerio Conti crossed the line five seconds later to collect the Maglia Rosa.
Masnada’s stage victory in the Giro d’Italia is the first for a pro-continental team since 2016, and the first for his Androni team since 2012. For Valerio Conti’s UAD, today’s pink jersey is a salve for what has been a mixed blessing of a Giro so far, which included a rider sent home with suspicious values, a stage win by jury decision and a couple of near misses. This is what Conti had to say: “I was targeting both stage win and Maglia Rosa but Fausto Masnada is an incredibly strong rider. I'm very happy with what I got. For an Italian rider, it's fantastic. This is my first time leading a stage race. I'm thrilled.”\n
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