Roberto Ferrari again proved his great bike-handling skills when he was one of only three sprinters to make it into the select 6-rider group that emerged at the end of today's tricky fourth stage of the Giro d'Italia. However, an unfortunate incident in the final corner caused him to lose speed and he regretted what was a perfect opportunity to take his second Giro stage win.

Roberto Ferrari is left to fend for himself in the Giro sprints but that is not a problem for the Italian who is one of the most skilled athletes when it comes to positioning. Today he again showed his strength when he avoided the carnage in one of the final turns and latched onto the back of the 6-rider group that emerged in the finale.

Inside the final kilometre, it seemed that the stage would be decided in a battle between Ferrari, Giacomo Nizzolo and Luka Mezgec who were the only three sprinters to have made the group. In the finale, Nacer Bouhanni, Elia Viviani and a few more riders rejoined them but Ferrari still found himself in an excellent position.

However, it all came to nothing in the final turn when the slippery surface caused him to lose speed. In the end, he could only manage 4th and regretted the loss of a great opportunity.

"To avoid crashes and stay in the first positions was a important, a mixture of luck and readiness," he said. "For this reason, I am sorry not to have taken more advantage of the great opportunity I had.

"As I exited the final turn, I touched one of the white painting on the road and lost grip for a brief moment.At the exit of the last corner I started to push in coincidence with the passage of a strip road, losing grip of course, for a brief moment. I wanted to launch my sprint as soon as possible and instead I was forced to try to make a comeback."