Giro d'Italia: Gino Mäder wins stage 6

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There was another breakaway winner on stage 6 of the Giro d'Italia, as Gino Mäder (Bahrain Victorious) triumphed atop the Colle San Giacomo, but also more GC action, with Attila Valter (Groupama-FDJ) taking the pink jersey and Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) issuing a statement of intent.

The final climb, measuring 15.5km at 6.1 per cent, was always likely to have an impact, but the stage had already burst into life in the wet and windy conditions between a pair of lesser mid-race climbs.

Race leader Alessandro De Marchi (Israel Start-Up Nation) was caught out when Ineos attacked en masse and split the bunch on the plateau, and the Italian went on to lose eight minutes even before the final ascent. At the finish, he handed the jersey over to his breakaway companion from Tuesday, 22-year-old Valter, who started the day fourth overall and placed a remarkable 12th on the stage.

Valter finished in elite company alongside Simon Yates (BikeExchange), Aleksandr Vlasov (Astana-Premier Tech) and Hugh Carthy (EF Education-Nippo), but those three were dealt a 17-second blow as Bernal issued a volley of attacks in the final 2km. Only Remco Evenepoel (Deceuninck-QuickStep), Giulio Ciccone (Trek-Segafredo), and Dan Martin (Israel Start-Up Nation) were able to follow the Colombian's second acceleration, and he still had enough in the tank to sprint for second place on the stage, with Martin taking third.

The day's honours, however, belonged to Mäder, who tasted redemption on a couple of fronts. First of all, it was the perfect way to bounce back after Bahrain Victorious had lost their leader Mikel Landa to a crash the previous afternoon. They appeared anything but rudderless on Thursday, as Matej Mohorič produced unsung heroics to first propel Mäder into the break, then split the break on the descent from that pair of mid-race climbs, and finally set the pace on the lower slopes of the final climb.

By the time he pulled aside, Mäder had just Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) and Dario Cataldo (Movistar) left for company, and he rode with them until launching his big attack 3.3km from the summit. He was quickly and cleanly away, but Bernal was about to light the touchpaper behind, and his one-minute advantage came under major threat.

It looked like he might suffer the same agonizing fate as at Paris-Nice earlier this year when Primoz Roglic flew past him in the final metres of the penultimate stage, but this time he hung on by 12 seconds to complete the redemption tale. It had been such an exacting day in yet more sodden conditions that he could barely rise from the saddle to celebrate, but he nevertheless savoured his moment.

"Yesterday was such a sad day, and today we just said we're going to ride in honour of Mikel's lost Giro," Mäder said.

"It's such a nice feeling after Paris-Nice. As soon as I was alone as the last survivor of the break, all I could think of was Paris-Nice. There was that doubt in my head all the way to the last 100 metres, and then it was such a sweet feeling."

Bernal then took second place on the stage, helping himself to six bonus seconds, while Martin claimed four bonus seconds for third. Evenepoel finished alongside them, but Ciccone lost two seconds in the final dash for the line.

Damiano Caruso (Bahrain Victorious), Marc Soler (Movistar), and Daniel Martinez (Ineos) all held their own and finished just ahead of the group containing Valter, Yates, Carthy, and Vlasov, who finished 17 seconds down on Bernal.

Emanuel Buchmann (Bora-Hansgrohe), Romain Bardet (Team DSM), and Davide Formolo (UAE Team Emirates) lost a further 11 seconds, and Vincenzo Nibali (Trek-Segafrdo) conceded 17 more, while Jai Hindley (Team DSM) and George Bennett (Jumbo-Visma) were dropped earlier on the climb and lost any real hope of winning this Giro.

Valter now leads the race by 11 seconds over Evenepoel, with Bernal third at 16 seconds, and Vlasov fourth at 24 seconds. Louis Vervaeke (Alpecin-Fenix), also with Valter in that stage 4 breakaway, kept himself in the top-five by placing 22nd on the stage, while Carthy, Caruso, Ciccone, Martin, and Yates round out the top-10 all still within 49 seconds of the race lead.

"I could cry, I'm so happy. It's just incredible for me," Valter said.

"It's good to make jokes in the morning but to really believe it is another story. I cannot be more surprised and more happy. I was planning to do it. I knew I had the good climbing legs this Giro to be better than the first five riders. I just had to hang onto the best climbers and I was really motivated to do it. Of course, the motivation gives extra power. I just hope to enjoy this jersey with the team as much as possible."

How it unfolded

From outside the Frasassi caves near Genga 179 riders set off for 160 kilometres, with Joe Dombrowski (UAE Team Emirates), Pavel Sivakov (Ineos Grenadiers), and François Bidard (AG2R Citroën) not taking to the start after their crashes on the previous day's run-in

The riders picked up where they left off, with a rapid start and a long battle for the breakaway. Multiple groups came and went before Mohorič drove a six-man group clear after 25km. He was working on behalf of Mäder, who'd already tried to get away, and they were joined by Cataldo, Simon Gugliemi (Groupama-FDJ), and Jimmy Janssens (Alpecin-Fenix). Simone Ravanelli (Androni-Giocattoli-Sidermec) was late to the party but not as late as Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) and Geoffrey Bouchard (AG2R Citroën), who spent an age in no-man's land. The peloton eased off after 30km but that duo had to ride hard for another 25km before finally making contact with the break to make it eight out front.

De Marchi's Israel Start-Up Nation teammates quickly came to the front to set the pace and keep the break under control, allowing the gap to rise slowly to a maximum of five minutes. After the intermediate sprint at kilometre 55, where Ravanelli claimed maximum points, the rain started to fall, only easing when the riders hit the first climb of the day, the second-category Forca di Gualdo, 10.4km long with an average gradient of 7.4 per cent.

Bouchard attacked at the top to claim maximum mountains points ahead of Ravanelli and Mäder, and they headed for the rolling plateau, where the rain was awaiting them once again.

Back in the bunch, fireworks were about to explode. Ineos led them over the top, and while they appeared to be setting tempo on the climb itself, the rhythm changed over the top, with the help of Team DSM. On the initial descent, Ganna forced the issue to such an extent that the peloton split in five. The gaps were small at first, but they yawned open on the exposed and windy hillside. The front group of 25 was caught by the second group of 30 to create one large peloton containing all the pre-race favourites. However, maglia rosa De Marchi was caught out behind, forced to chase as the dropped groups came together to form a chasing pack.

Ineos continued to pile on the pressure as the road tilted uphill towards the peak of the short third-category Forca di Presta climb. Ganna's turn was so violent that he briefly split the front peloton into a nine-man echelon, with EF Education-Nippo and Deceuninck-QuickStep scrambling to get on terms before the whole group reformed.

At the top of the Forca di Presta, with 60km to go, Mohorič led the breakaway, but their lead had been reduced to 2:55, while the De Marchi group was already 90 seconds down on the main bunch.

Mohorič had come to the fore in anticipation of the long, gentle descent to the foot of the final climb, and he duly used his descending skills to drag Mäder clear. The wet roads were treacherous and only Mollema – despite a brief error – and Cataldo were able to get back on terms with the Bahrain duo, while the rest of them faded away.

There was aggression in the bunch on the descent, too, with Romain Bardet (Team DSM), Alberto Bettiol (EF Education-Nippo), and Giulio Ciccone (Trek-Segafredo) easing clear in a trio. Ciccone refused to work on the pedalling sections, much to Bettiol's frustration, but they still managed to quickly open a lead of 30 seconds, which Bardet clearly felt was worth investing in.

With 30km to go, as the descent shallowed out, that trio were 2:10 behind the leaders and some 50 seconds clear of the bunch. Bettiol and Bardet did manage to coax a couple of turns out of Ciccone, and their strength in numbers grew when they caught Ravanelli, Gugliemi, and Janssens from the original break with 25km to go. By that point, however, they were losing time, and the gap back to the bunch dipped to 30 seconds.

That trend continued on the final few kilometres that preceded the final climb, and they were caught by the Ineos Grenadiers-led peloton with 17km to go.

The final climb

At the foot of the final climb, marked by an intermediate sprint, the four remaining breakaway riders – Mohorič, Mäder, Mollema, Cataldo – enjoyed a lead of 2:45 over the front peloton. Meanwhile, the De Marchi group had been ridden well out of contention, some nine minutes in arrears.

The climb to San Giacomo measured 15.5 kilometres, with an average gradient of 6.1 per cent. The first two-thirds were steady enough but the gradients would rise to a stiffer 7.5 per cent for the final 5km.

Mohorič took up pace-making duties in the break, continuing to sacrifice himself for Mäder. He lasted for 2km before pulling aside and leaving it to his young teammate. Back in the bunch, Ganna worked on the lower slopes for Ineos, as the rain eased and the GC contenders shed their rain capes.

There was a baffling moment 12km from the top, as the bunch reduced to 50 riders, when Pieter Serry (Deceuninck-QuickStep) was hit by a Team BikeExchange car. The Belgian was dropping off the back and was hit from behind by the car. Fortunately, he was able to remount, although he made his frustration clear.

With 10km to go, after a third of the climb, the four leaders had been pegged back but still enjoyed a lead of 2:10. Ganna then pulled over, his last act being to cause George Bennett (Jumbo-Visma) to drop, the Kiwi having already struggled in the wet conditions two days ago. He wasn't gone for long, though, as Koen Bouwman dropped back to pace him back up.

Jonathan Castroviejo was the next rider to take the reins for Ineos Grenadiers, and the gap fell to two minutes with 7.5km to go. Still, 40 riders remained in the GC group, with Gianni Moscon and Daniel Martinez in front of Bernal. Carthy, Soler, and Evenepoel were all well supported behind in the Ineos line, while DSM soon moved their leaders up to the front.

Mäder, Mollema, and Cataldo passed under the 5km-to-go banner and took on the hardest part of the climb with a lead of 1:30. At the same point, Castroviejo's turn was brought to a premature end by a rear-wheel puncture. That threw the Ineos train off the rails, and DSM and QuickStep both used the opportunity to hit the front and start dictating.

After a turn from DSM's Michael Storer, Fausto Masnada took it up for QuickStep, with Almeida and Evenepoel in tow. The group had thinned to 30 riders with 4km to go, with Bennett now dropped for good.

Up front, Mäder launched the first big attack 3.3km from the summit, at which point they were still just over a minute clear of the GC group. Soon came the first big attack from back there, too, as Ineos, having slipped back, sent Martinez up the road. Masnada continued his effort, causing last year's runner-up Jai Hindley (Team DSM) to be dropped, before handing over to Almeida with just over 2km to go.

Mäder rode definitively clear of Mollema and Cataldo and took a lead of just under a minute into the final 2km.

Bernal then launched his move, wiping out his teammate Martinez's lead in an instant. Ciccone and Evenepoel were straight on the case, but a moment's hesitation allowed others back into the picture. Just over a kilometre from the top, Bernal kicked again, with Ciccone and Evenepoel once again the riders closest in attendance. This time, Martin got himself on board, while Vlasov scrapped with Damiano Caruso a few wheel lengths behind. Soler then got himself over to that mini group, while Yates tried to limit the damage in a third chasing group.

Bernal kept the pressure on to pry small but significant gaps open in another gruelling first-week tussle, but Mäder was able to dig in and hang on to celebrate the biggest win of his young career.