Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) was remarkably calm for a man who only minutes before was picking himself up off some greasy Neapolitan cobblestones.
“I really don't get why we have to try to find such a complicated finish,” The Lidl-Trek sprinter told TV reporters. “I just really don’t get it.”
Me neither, Jonny. The crash in the final 200m of stage six of the Giro d’Italia was just completely, utterly, frustratingly predictable. Even before the rain clouds gathered around the Bay of Naples, this was a silly finish for an inevitable sprint stage. The corner was off-camber, on cobbles after a high-speed run-in. A mass pile-up formed, leaving two riders – Davide Ballerini (XDS Astana) and Jasper Stuyven (Soudal Quick-Step) off the front to contest the stage. The Astana rider won as the light drizzle came down.
“With two drops of water, we get a huge mess,” said Milan, who, like the other sprinters, has suffered through two gruelling stages in Italy to get his opportunity – only for it to be taken away, and from my point of view, through no fault of his own.
“I am disappointed, because I was in a good position, I’m in good shape with good legs.”
The hunt for that win must go on for Milan and the Lidl-Trek team who were winning them for fun this time last year. There was nothing fun about today for the team’s leader.
“It’s just painful and it’s painful to see riders crash in front of you,” said Milan, who was in no way blaming the riders who went down in front of him.
Those who tumbled first were the Unibet Rose Rockets, looking for their first ever Grand Tour stage win, including star sprinter, Dylan Groenewegen. These sprints are a high-risk-high-reward game and for a squad like the Rockets, a win here would make their entire season. This is why I don’t like blaming the teams and riders. Yes, cycling is a dangerous sport. Yes, sprinting is probably the most dangerous part of it. And yes, they did enter the final corner too quickly. But, organisers can and should mitigate as much risk as possible.
Davide Ballerini (XDS Astana) emerged from the chaos to win stage six of the Giro d'Italia (Image: Zac Williams/SWpix.com)
It was the last of several dangerous incidents on the stage along the Amalfi coast – the boiling point of a stage that was simmering all day long.
The first incident was when Nico Denz (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) came down hard with around 100km to go. Clearly concussed and struggling to stand, the stage winner from last year’s race was helped to his feet by bystanders and all seemed to be under control and that he would be attended to by medical staff. And with the German’s visible signs of dizziness caught on TV cameras, it was presumed that, sadly, this was the end of his Grand Tour. But no, skip forward 10km or so and Denz is seen back in the peloton. Maybe he was cleared of any concussion, maybe not. But whatever check – if one even happened – took place worryingly quickly. A concussed rider in a peloton is a danger to everyone around them.
Like with the crash in the finale, it’s difficult to blame the riders themselves for wanting to get back on their bikes. It’s their job. But there should be even more protocols in place to independently assess concussion-risk for crash victims. These are said to happen, but I just cannot comprehend how Denz would have passed the checks.
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Another incident, which thankfully, didn’t result in further tumbles, was with 50km to go a group on the side of the road stepping out from the middle of a roundabout trying to slap the riders as they passed by.
It was shocking. It’s always disappointing to witness public acts of stupidity and selfishness, but what made it even more disheartening was to see it in a sport like cycling, so communal and celebrated in this part of the world.
Of course, the organisers cannot be blamed for the vile acts of individuals, and the police cannot marshall every metre of a Grand Tour stage, but it was a reminder of the perils of this sport.
In response to the increasing risk, general classification teams are beginning to change their tactics in finales. Long before the 5km safety zone, Visma-Lease a Bike were seen right at the back of the peloton, the safest place to be for the race favourite, Jonas Vingegaard. They decided they would rather lose some seconds if a split happened than the Dane suffer a race-ending crash.
The same can’t be said for the sprint teams. These flat finishes are what it’s all about for them. To put it plainly: they are already risking their lives in what they do. The least the organisers could do would be to provide as safe a parcours as possible. That shouldn’t be too much to ask.
Cover image: Dario Belingheri/Getty Images
