Sprint superstars feared for their lives and don't care about winning in the Giro: "I'm just glad to be alive"

Jonathan Milan clinched the fourth stage of the Giro d'Italia, but the real story for the second day running was the formidable and varied sprinting field. Many big names missed out on victory, each sharing tales primarily about the extremely fast and dangerous finale.

The Giro organizers selected Capo Mele for the critical final stretch, a climb infamous from Milan-San Remo. Like on Monday, the climb injected plenty of drama into the peloton. Filippo Ganna launched an attack and the sprint teams quickly strung out behind him. "It was an incredibly hectic sprint, with tremendous speeds. Teams were fighting for positions, which at times was quite frightening and only pushed the pace higher," remarked Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck), the runner-up, once his pulse had returned to normal.

"I'm just relieved to be alive," Tim Merlier confessed to Eurosport, echoing Groves. The comment stood out, especially since he had won the previous day. This time he came in fifth. "In the last kilometer and a half, I saw two riders nearly crash over the barriers shoulder to shoulder. I managed to sprint well, but Milan was just unstoppable with his powerful riding. I would have loved to win, and perhaps it was possible, but the conditions were hectic and perilous, so I'm okay with the outcome. It’s all part of the job."

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Merlier saw intense position battles

Speaking with VTM, Merlier elaborated on why the situation was particularly dangerous. "At the top of Capo Mele, I was a bit too far back. Due to the high speed in the descent, I had to hit the brakes hard twice because it looked like those in front of me were going to crash. At that moment, I really feared for my life."

Ganna's attack added to the chaos. It wasn’t the typical setup for a sprint, but a peloton that had to muster all its strength to catch the Italian. "These kinds of stages are great for riders who aim for a late breakaway. We saw that yesterday with Pogacar, and he could have done it again. However, the wind was in our favor, so you had to be very strong to stay away," Groves, who was pleased with his silver, commented. "We're slowly getting to where we want to be. The team is riding strong for me, and we keep pushing and trying."

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Bauhaus lashes out at Giro organization

Alongside Merlier and Groves, Phil Bauhaus was also visibly upset about the dangerous finish after the race. The German rider from Bahrain Victorious finished third, but he couldn't care less about the result. "To be honest, I’m not a fan of such finishes. Everyone made it safely, which is the most important thing. We were going downhill at eighty kilometers per hour towards a mass sprint; I don’t think that’s necessary."

"We all take so many risks, and bunch sprints are already super dangerous. Then, a descent like that isn’t needed. Today I rode with 58 gears, something I've never done before," Bauhaus criticized the Giro organizers. He was brief about the result itself. "It's disappointing for the team because we didn't achieve what we hoped for. However, third in the Giro is still a good result that we can build on."