Milan furious after cobbled carnage in Naples as another Giro finish marred by a crash

Jonathan Milan was one of the hot favourites for stage six of the Giro d'Italia on Thursday — but like several of his fellow sprinters, he couldn't make it cleanly through the final corner in Naples. The Italian let rip at race organiser RCS afterwards and publicly questioned why a finish like this was ever deemed necessary.

Milan had been riding in the slipstream of Unibet Rose Rockets lead-out men Elmar Reinders and Dylan Groenewegen, who couldn't hold their lines in the final bend. Matteo Malucelli (XDS Astana), Tobias Lund Andresen (Decathlon CMA CGM) and Orluis Aular (Movistar) also went down in the same incident. Milan, however, managed to stay upright.

"Fortunately I didn't fall and I was able to absorb the impact with my bike and keep myself on my feet," he said. "They went down in front of me, but it's not the riders' fault. We knew it could be very slippery here in the rain with these cobblestones."

The Italian was in no mood to see the bright side after missing yet another chance in Naples. "I genuinely don't understand why we have to finish somewhere this complicated. I really don't understand it. You can be well aware in advance that it could rain."

"A few years ago we also finished here, but on a final straight without any corners. Now you get two drops of rain and it's a complete mess," said the man who has still not won a stage at this Giro d'Italia.

Milan was clearly unhappy with the outcome — but also found perspective in the moment. "This is disappointing, because I was in a good position and feeling good. I really, truly don't understand it. And it hurts to see other riders going down in front of you," he concluded.