Giro d’Italia 2025 continued with stage 6, which would see the race travel west and take the riders through hilly terrain – including one Category 2 and one Category 3 climb – on a 227-kilometer route from Potenza to Naples – the third-largest city of Italy.

The race would travel from the Basilicata region and into Campania, of which Naples is the regional capital. Naples is currently leading the Serie A national soccer league and local fans are passionately supporting their local team in their efforts.

Riders started stage 6 under cloudy skies in the hilly streets of Potenza. The final eighty kilometers of the stage were either downhill or flat, so the usual mass sprint finish in Naples was expected in today’s stage. Favorites to take the stage victory included Olav Kooij (Visma-Lease a Bike), Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Orluis Aular (Movistar Team), and three-time stage winner Mads Pedersen of Lidl-Trek. Danish powerhouse Pedersen is the first rider to win three of the first five stages of the Giro since Mario Cippolini in 1997.

It did not take long after the start of the stage before intense action commenced. Some of the biggest engines in the peloton proved eager to launch attacks to join the early and long breakaway efforts of the day. 

Joshua Tarling (Ineos-Grenadiers), Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates), Taco van der Hoorn (Intermarche-Wanty), Josef Cerny (Soudal-QuickStep), and Lorenzo Fortunato were some of the active riders in front. Riders were passing through hilly and green terrain marked by wind farms that indicated a tail wind for the Giro cyclists.

Attacking efforts were reshuffled in the first kilometers of the stage as many differing interests of various teams had to be taken into consideration for a viable breakaway to be able to form.

A breakaway group had been established when 205 kilometers remained. Michel Ries (Arkea B & B Hotels), Lorenzo Germani (Groupama-FDJ), Ben Turner (Ineos-Grenadiers), Josef Cerny (Soudal-QuickStep), Felix Engelhardt (Jayco-Alula), Manuele Tarozzi (VF Group-Bardiani CSF-Faizane), and Lorenzo Fortunato were the participants. 

A group featuring Jan Tratnik (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe), Lucas Hamilton (Ineos-Grenadiers), Joshua Tarling (Ineos-Grenadiers), Mathias Vacek (Lidl-Trek), and Movistar’s Davide Formolo tried to break free from the main peloton and bridge the gap to the front breakaway. This caused quite a stir in the front part of the main peloton as these strong engines would be hard to reel in later.

Riders from Team Visma-Lease a Bike moved to the front of the main peloton to increase the pace and reel in the breakaway optimists. Two-hundred kilometers remained.

All the breakaway optimists were reeled in, and the race situation was reset. 

Enzo Paleni (Groupama-FDJ) and Taco van der Hoorn (Intermarche-Wanty) were later allowed to form a more viable breakaway. The duo had a lead of three minutes with 185 kilometers left. The initial part of the stage had been raced at very high speeds, and now a more relaxed pace was set in the main peloton by riders from Visma-Lease a Bike, Movistar, and Lidl-Trek riders.

The riders reached the Muro Lucano and were now riding uphill. The Lucanian hillside village is known for its ancient cliffside houses, its archeological museum, and its medical castle where Queen Joanna I of Anjou was killed.

Lucas Hamilton and Lorenzo Fortunato tried their luck again when they attempted to bridge to the front duo on the climb. Hamilton found it difficult to keep up with Fortunato.

While Hamilton decided to wait for the main peloton, Fortunato eventually succeeded at catching Paleni and van der Hoorn, and the trio climbed the Valico di Monte Carruozzo. (Category 2). Fortunato later left the two other breakaway optimists behind on the climb as he pursued the points that could be earned for the best climber classification as the first rider to reach the summit. Fortunato earned the points and - with his mission accomplished – decided to wait for the main peloton and preserve energy for later mountain stages.

It had started raining when 150 kilometers remained. The rain could make the downslope sections of the route dangerous for the riders. The riders passed the beautiful Lago di Conza lake.

The front duo had an advantage of 03:10 minutes 145 kilometers from the finish line in Napoli. The frontmen had a head of 02:10 minutes with 120 kilometers left. The main peloton was not eager to catch the two breakaway hopefuls just yet.

Lucas Hamilton crashed in the peloton on the slippery roads on a decent 100 kilometers from the finish line.

The advantage of the front group was reduced to 01:20 minutes on the Monteforte Irpino (Category 3) climb with 85 kilometers to the finish line. The slopes were full of green growths and fertile soils. It would be downhill and flat terrain all the way from the summit of the climb and to the finish line along the waterfront in Naples. 

A major crash occurred in the main peloton on the slippery roads as the peloton was passing through a small village. The crash brought down Adam Yates (UAE Team Emirates), Jai Hindley (Red Bull- Bora – Hansgrohe), Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost), and many other riders. General classification leader Mads Pedersen was also implicated in the crash. Meanwhile, riders from Visma-Lease a Bike were leading the chase effort at the front of the peloton.

Jai Hindley was forced to abandon this year’s Giro d’Italia as he was apparently suffering from concussion symptoms because of the crash. 

Race organizer RCS Sport decided to neutralize the race until all riders had regrouped, bikes had been fixed, and all injured riders had undergone necessary treatment.

The neutralization period was later suspended and the riders carried on with the same fifty second time distance between the front duo and the main peloton as before the crash. While Paleni and van der Horn carried on in front, riders from Decathlon-AG2R, Team Picnic-PostNL, and Visma-Lease a Bike were doing the chase work from the front part of the main peloton.

Paleni and van der Hoorn were still in the lead with 23 kilometers remaining – at this point with an advantage of thirty seconds over the remains of the main peloton – as some riders, including GC leader Pedersen, had decided to ride to the finish line at cruising speed because of the previous crash. Pedersen would not be taking a fourth victory in today’s stage.

The riders were approaching Naples and the legendary Vesuvio volcano, which buried Pompei in ashes and gasses. Perhaps today’s stage 6 of Giro d’Italia 2025 would also culminate in an explosion when the sprinters unleashed their powers in a mass sprint to the finish line.

The main peloton was still thirty seconds behind the front duo when six kilometers remained. Would the peloton be able to reel them in before it was too late? Would the stage to Naples culminate in a mass sprint as usual?

Alpecin-Deceuninck riders were leading the main peloton in support of their sprint ace Kaden Groves. The time distance was only fifteen seconds with 4 K to go.

A spectator demonstrated in the middle of the road with three kilometers left. What a dangerous situation for the riders. The attackers were caught.

The Decathlon-AG2R sprint train moved to the front. The riders reached the marina zone.

Alpecin-Deceuninck had returned to the front when the final kilometer started. Olav Kooij and Wout van Aert were active at the front.

Kaden Groves powered across the finish line as winner of stage 6 of Giro d’Italia 2025 for Team Alpecin-Deceuninck. Milan Fretin finished second for Team Cofidis, while Paul Magnier (Soudal-QuickStep) finished third, despite having crashed during the stage and shown symptoms of concussion. What a beautiful mass sprint finish in the streets of Naples following a dramatic stage.

Olav Kooij got locked in between a rider and the barriers during the sprint and was unable to accelerate in the final meters.

“What a big relief. The team always believed in me and to get the first win for the team is a big relief for us,” stage winner Kaden Groves told Roadcycling.com. 

“It was super important to be near the front because of the cobbled section with two kilometers to go. I am good in the colder weather conditions, so I was happy when it started raining. It’s super nice to win in an iconic city like Napoli,” Groves explained.

Denmark’s Mads Pedersen remains general classification leader before tomorrow’s stage 7. Primoz Roglic is second for Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, while Mathias Vacek is third and Brandon McNulty fourth.

The general classification favorites have their focus on Friday’s stage 7 of this year’s Giro. The race will finally reach the high mountains and the 168-kilometer stage 7 from Castel di Sangro to Tagliacozzo will culminate with an explosive finish on the Category 1 climb to the finish line. GC riders such as Primoz Roglic, Richard Carapaz, Juan Ayuso, and Egan Bernal will be sure to test their legs on the climb while hoping to gain time on competitors.

Stay tuned to Roadcycling.com for complete news and coverage from Giro d’Italia 2025.