Giro d'Italia: Michael Matthews wins stage 6

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Michael Matthews (Orica-GreenEdge) defended his pink jersey in style by winning the stage up to Montecassino while Cadel Evans (BMC) took advantage of a crash affected finale to gain precious seconds on his overall rivals.

The two Australians were part of a group of eight riders that avoided the crash on the wet roads at the foot of the climb to the finish. Evans' BMC teammates then drove the group up the eight kilometre climb before he lead out the sprint.

Matthews timed his sprint perfectly to win the stage with Tim Wellens (Lotto Belisol) taking second and Evans third. The other overall contenders were scattered behind. Many were in a group that lost 49 seconds, but Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) lost even more: almost certainly his chance of overall victory and his injuries may mean he is unable to continue.

Matthews now leads Evans by 21 seconds, with Rigoberto Uran (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) third at 1:18. Nairo Quintana (Movistar) is tenth at a more distant 2:08. Everyone else is even further behind.

Matthews produced the performance of his career after some excellent support from his teammates.

"I still can't believe what happened," he said. "The team put me in a perfect position for the climb. We controlled the break and then it was up to me to to defend the jersey. I didn't think I'd be able to win the stage too. I've got to thank the team, they were incredible. I was lucky to have Luke Durbridge in front of me, he did an awesome job. I wouldn't be here with out him on the climb."

A long and painful day in the saddle

With the stage extended to 257km due to a landslide and the riders facing a transfer of 4.9km and then a 9km descent to their team buses, the stage to Montecassino was a long, painful day in the saddle, with some riders having a 6:30 wake-up call before a transfer to the start in Sassano south of Naples. The late crashes only compounded the pain.

The riders rolled out of Sassano at 11:00 and the break of the day formed quickly with Marco Bandiera (Androni Giocattoli), Edoardo Zardini (Bardiani-CSF), Andrea Fedi (Neri Sottoli) and Rodolfo Torres (Colombia) going clear. The peloton let them get away and they quickly gained ten minutes and pushed their lead to 14 minutes after 60km.

For much of the stage, along the flat roads towards Salerno, inland from Naples, past the stunning Reggia of Caserta and up towards Cassino, the peloton kept the break under control. Team Sky led the chase for a long spell before Orica-GreenEdge, Giant-Shimano and Trek Factory Racing stepped up to do their bit.

The riders enjoyed a day in the sun for most of the stage but the clouds gathered over Montecassino and the rain began to fall in the final 30km of the stage. The slippery roads did not deter the peloton, who upped their speed in the final hour to pull back the four brave attackers with just 12km remaining.

The speed rose even more and riders began to fight for position as the climb approached. Two crashes suddenly left numerous riders hurting after going down on the wet roads. The second occurred as the peloton was squeezed to take a right turn at a roundabout. At least a dozen riders went down, blocking the road.

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Giampaolo Caruso (Katusha) was the worst off and was taken to hospital by ambulance after landing on his hip. Davide Villella (Cannodale) also went down hard, while Rick Flens (Belkin), Svein Tuft (Orica-GreenEdge) were just two of many riders left with serious road rash. Rodriguez went down with several Katusha teammates. He got up but had hurt his left shoulder and ribs. He made it to the finish but headed to hospital for x-rays and a check-up.

A split in the peloton

The crash split the peloton with the group of eight riders quickly gaining 30 seconds.

Evans, who always demands to ride near the front and to be protected by his teammates, was in the right place and quickly realised he had a chance to gain time on his overall rivals. The race was on and so there was no thought about slowing for the crash victims. Evans' teammates Daniel Oss and Steve Morabito hit the front and worked to ensure the move stayed clear. Luke Durbridge also did his part to help Matthews and Ivan Santaromita.

Matteo Rabottini (Neri Sottoli) and Wellens were also there and let BMC drag the move up the climb. Behind the peloton needed time to reform and get organized. Movistar tried to limit Quintana's losses but several riders tried to attack alone from the group and that slowed an organized chase.

Morabito gave his all to help Evans and then he took over and made a power surge in the final kilometre. It meant Matthews and Wellens came past in the sprint to the line. Matthews took the stage victory and kept the pink jersey but Evans was the big winner of the day, as some of his overall rivals lost any chance of victory at this year's Giro d'Italia.

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