Ackermann podiums on fast finish to Naples

Pascal Ackermann inched closer to his first win of 2023, with a third-place finish on stage six of the Giro D’Italia.

Stage six started and finished in Napoli (162 km) with two classified climbs coming in the middle of the stage before the final 50 km flat into the city.

UAE Team Emirates were present at the front of the peloton for much of the stage, controlling things while keeping GC favourite João Almeida safe. With the break of the day only being absorbed at 300 m to go Ackermann hit out for glory but came up short against stage winner Mads Pedersen (Trek Segafredo).

Tomorrow marks the first Big Mountain test with a lengthy 206km day from Capua to the summit finish in Campo Imperatore.

Almeida remains 4th on General Classification heading into first big shake-up on stage 7.

Almeida : “Tomorrow will be the real test for the GC guys. It’s a pretty long climb to the finish. It’s not the hardest climb of the race but it’s going to be a long day with a cold finish at altitude. We’ll see how the legs are after the crash the other day but hopefully all will be fine.”

 
Stage 6 results

1.Mads Pedersen (Trek-Segafredo) 3:44:45
2.Jonathan Milan (Bahrain-Victorious) s.t
3.Pascal Ackermann (UAE Team Emirates) s.t

General Classification after stage 6

1.Andreas Leknassund (DSM) 22:50:48
2.Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-Quickstep) +28’’
3.Aurelien Paret-Peintre (AG2R Citroen) +30’’
4.Joao Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) +1’