Home favourite Davide Ballerini secured his first Grand Tour stage victory by skillfully avoiding a late crash during stage six of the Giro d’Italia. The XDS-Astana rider navigated a chaotic finish that took out several contenders, ultimately outpacing Jasper Stuyven to claim the win on the cobbled streets of Naples.

Stuyven’s teammate, Paul Magnier, who has already celebrated two stage wins in this year’s race, finished in third place after narrowly avoiding a spill himself while dodging fallen riders. Both Dylan Groenewegen and Jonathan Milan were among those caught in the crash, with Groenewegen’s lead-out rider slipping on a tricky corner just meters from the finish line.

The previous day's stage five had been marked by harsh conditions, with torrential rain and cold temperatures. Fortunately, stage six enjoyed mostly clear skies, allowing the riders to race under sunshine for the 141km stretch from Paestum to Naples.

Starting near the Ancient Greek temples in Paestum, the route featured a nearly flat parcours leading into Naples, culminating in a cobbled section designed for a bunch sprint. An early breakaway of Luca Vergallito and Edward Planckaert from Alpecin-PremierTech, alongside Mattia Bais from Team Polti-VisitMalta and Martin Marcellusi and Manuele Tarozzi from Bardiani CSF 7 Saber, initially led the race. However, they were reeled in by the sprinters' teams with 35km remaining.

As the riders entered central Naples, rain transformed the final cobbled stretch into a slippery challenge, leading to multiple riders slipping, including Groenewegen and Milan, who were unable to compete in the sprint. Despite the chaos, Afonso Eulalio of Bahrain-Victorious retained the overall race leader's pink jersey, with no changes in the general classification standings.