Kaden Groves wins chaotic sixth stage of Giro d'Italia

Kaden Groves has sprinted to a dominant win at the Giro d'Italia on a stage six day marred by a mass crash on wet and slick roads.

Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) won by a bike length in Napoli after a powerful sprint in clear air on the opposite side of the finishing straight to his rivals.

The 26-year-old remained calm in a frantic finale that saw the breakaway duo of Enzo Paleni (Groupama-FDJ) and Taco van der Hoorn (Intermarché–Wanty) caught with 2.5 kilometres to go, followed by a flyer from Wout van Aert (Visma-Lease a Bike).

The Queenslander from Gympie and Sunshine Coast Cycling Club now has nine Grand Tour stage wins, two of which have come at the Giro d'Italia.

"It's a big relief. The team also believes in me and it's not been a great start to the season but then with the injury I missed a lot of racing and was arriving here without a win," Groves said.

"So, to get the first one for the year is a big relief.

"With these wet roads, they're quite slippery, knowing the cobbles starting around the two kilometre mark it was super important to be in front but in the end we also needed to use some guys early to close the breakaway – they did a super ride.

"Still had teammates, (Jensen) Plowright and (Edward) Planckaert who did a super job and luckily I could slip back a few places, launch the sprint early but off the wheels.

"Once it started raining I felt quite a bit better actually, I'm quite good in the colder, wetter conditions so for sure I had confidence and in my team also, I believe in them and they always do a super job.

"It's super nice to win here in Napoli, it's an iconic city for sure and I think as a sprinter in the Giro many stages have arrived here and it's always a dream to win it."

The 226km stage which started in Potenza came unstuck with 71km to go after a mass crash of more than 40 riders in the peloton on wet and slippery roads.

The race was stopped momentarily and the stage was neutralised for general classification times, leaving only the stage win up for grabs from the day.

Australian and 2022 Giro d'Italia winner Jai Hindley (Red Bull–BORA–hansgrohe) was one of the worst off of those who fell and he unfortunately was forced to abandon the race after suffering a concussion.

Feature picture: Getty Images