The second bunch sprint in this Giro d’Italia was won by Andre Greipel, Luka Mezgec sprinted to 8th.

Five riders formed the break and rode in the front during one of the few stages that was suited for a bunch sprint in this year’s Giro. For Team Giant-Alpecin it was a day to control the breakaway, together with the other sprinters teams Lotto Saudal and Trek Factory Racing.

The joint venture managed to close the gap with 13km to the finish, while crosswinds made it into a nervous and hard finale as the bunch sprint was inevitable. Andre Greipel (Lotto Saudal) had the fastest legs today and won stage 6. Behind the German it was Luka Mezgec who sprinted to an 8th position. Leader in the GC, Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) was caught up in a crash that took place in the sprint.

“Except for the finale, the day went according to our plan. The ideal situation unfolded where a small breakaway group escaped with a maximum gap of 5-6 minutes. In this way we only had to control the breakaway instead of really chasing hard,” explained coach Adriaan Helmantel.

“During a large part of the stage, Cheng [Ji] was on the front of the bunch. Heading to the finale, Stammie [Tom Stamsnijder] took over and when the final 5 kilometer started, our lead-out was formed. Unfortunately, Luka lost the connection with Nikias [Ardnt] and Bert [de Backer] as he got boxed in. Luka sprinted to 8th, but there is space for improvement still.”