The Manxman takes sixth place and moves up in the maglia ciclamino standings.
The peloton spent the entire Wednesday afternoon in the charming Emilia-Romagna, a region which more than five hundred years ago found itself at the center of Cesare Borgia’s ambitions, who was hoping to unite the entire Italian peninsula backed by his influent father, none other than Pope Alexander Vl.
Despite being pan-flat, the 196km journey from Santarcangelo di Romagna to Reggio Emilia wasn’t quite as straightforward as expected, due to a lurking danger of echelons inside the final 100 kilometers. At one point, many teams began scrambling for a position at the front as they increased the tempo, and came close to splitting the bunch, but in the end the only result was the original breakaway being brought back after just two hours spent up the road.
That was the cue for another rider to go clear, but the group kept him within reach at all times, and made sure it came down to a bunch sprint, won by Alberto Dainese (Team DSM). Mark Cavendish was again in the frame for Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl, finishing sixth for his third top 10 finish at this Giro, a result which elevated the 36-year-old Manxman to second in the points classification.
Photo credit: ©Tim De Waele / Getty Images
