A sprint finish today. Hopefully it stays dry as the finish has some tight turns and polished pav.Diluvio e Eulalio: it poured, rain was running down the roads in rivulets and in some places a torrent. The early breakaway took a while to form with the Visma-LAB team trying hard to filter the moves, including Victor Campenaerts going the move that did stick. Was he there to police things, to disrupt them or just see who was there under all the rain jackets? Because Alfondo Eulalio was there, the Bahrain rider started the day just over a minute down on GC. Lidl-Trek seemed to miss this or gambled others would chase but they didnt.Igor Arrieta attacked the 13 rider breakaway first with 52km to go and got a gap of 30 seconds when Eulalio rode across on the main climb of the day. The pair had every reason to co-operate, the stage for you, jersey for me scenario.Once in the streets of Potenza the race took on a Wacky Races feel where the damp roads had their say. First Arrieta went sliding out on bend, then Eulalio moments later. This allowed Arrieta to get back so the pair could dispute the finish. Only for Arrieta to lock up on another corner and go off course. Eulalio now had a gap but his legs were tetanised by the cold. Arrieta began to close in and in a slow motion sprint came around for the win with Eulalio taking the maglia rosa as more than a consolation. All this on a day when earlier Mathys Rondel had smashed into the back window of a UAE team car and a moto in the race fell and took out several riders too.Arrieta and Eulalio have been names to watch for the future, Eulalio a neo-pro to watch last year. Now well use the present tense. Arrieta can feature for more stage wins. Itll be interesting to see how long Eulalio spends in the lead, hes got over six minutes on Jonas Vingegaard and company and is a good climber.The stage was a flop for Lidl-Trek to lose the jersey so quickly. Visma-LAB were notably absent from the chase too. Now Vingegaard wont lose much sleep about dropping Eulalio, and keeping the Portuguese rider in pink can even save Visma some work but still, six minutes is generous.The Route: just 141km and a spin along the coast on big roads before the easy ascension through Cava de Tirreni. Todays route sticks to the flattest roads possible rather taking any coastal cliff roads or tackling the slopes of Mount Vesuvius.The Finish: if the Giro returns to Napoli and finishes by the sea, this is in a different place with a new route. Its big streets through the city and then runs alongside the docks with 4km to go.In the final kilometre theres a tight left turn onto cobbles and the road begins to climb to a 180 corner (or two right-hand corners as theres a small space in between) and then 400m of finishing straight to the line, all still climbing on cobbles. These are urban pav but old, the kind where passing traffic noisily slaps the stones and they can be very tricky in the wet. Right at the finish the cobbles switch to large flagstones.The Contenders: three sprinters lead the picks. Paul Magnier (Soudal-Quickstep) comes first because hes won twice already and is agile for this uphill finish and the cobbles but with some risks too, hes not the most delicate of bike handlers and besides two wins already is plenty.Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) has been close and today is a good chance. The uphill finish is within his range but well see if the leadout changes, perhaps using big Max Walscheid up before little Simone Consonni takes over on the climb?Tobias Lund (Decathlon-CMA CGM) is the third pick. Out of the picture in Sofia he had punctured on the run into town and lost energy in the late chase.Dylan Groenewegen (Unibet Rose Rockets) gets a mention too, the slow turn and the uphill run to the line suits him less, but the penalty is moderate rather than severe.Its hard to get beyond these four. Others can win but all their chances seem reduced. Madhis Mihkels (EF) for example has done well but can he get ahead of the big names cited already in a straight sprint? Likewise for all but Ethan Vernon (NSN) is good at seated sprints and this could pay on the cobbled road.Magnier, Milan, LundGroenewegenVernonWeather: up to 21C and sunshine but some heavy clouds rolling over the race at times which can unleash brief downpours.TV: KM0 is at 2.05pm the finish is forecast for 5.15pm CEST. Tune in for the sprint finish.Postcard from NapoliCarmine Castellano died in March at the age of 89 in his home town of Sorrento, a spin down the coast from Napoli. He was the Giros race director from 1993 to 2003.Theres a blog post to do on race organising being a thankless task. If you do a great job and everything goes without a hitch, everyone congratulates the winner. If theres one problem with the route, even a stray dog, then the organiser must be to blame. Nevertheless Castellano gave up being a lawyer working in the courts of Naples to run bike races.After starting local races he was on the organising committee for the Giro stage from Potenza to Sorrento in 1974. The race had a central command in Milan and delegated on-the-ground organisation to local committees for each stage; the Tour de Romandie does this today. Castellano became the Giros man in the south. In the mid-80s he moved to Milan to take on more work and by 1989 he ran the whole Giro, notionally alongside Vincenzo Torriani but as de facto organiser.Embed from Getty ImagesIn 1993 Castellano took over formally as the race director. He was a pioneer in the literal sense, opening up new routes for the Giro. The Mortirolo and Zoncolan were both Castellano innovations, he was modest enough to attribute their discovery to locals but visionary to include them. The choice suited the race as they offered spectacle and notoriety without high altitude and so less risky for a visit in May. One high peak the Giro did visit to was the Colle delle Finestre in 2005, the first visit of a grand tour to a gravel road for a long time.If the Giro had a golden age with Fausto Coppi and Gino Bartali, it enjoyed a boom under Castellano thanks to Marco Pantani and the flourishing Italian cycling scene. In 1997 the Giro resembled the Italian stage race championships with 131 Italians out of 180 starters. Only the bubble burst and Pantanis ejection from the 1999 Giro after failing a blood test played a large part in this. Ejecting Pantani from the race must have been Castellanos most difficult moment but he said respect for the rules comes before everything else. He was a lawyer after all.The post Giro dItalia Stage 6 Preview first appeared on The Inner Ring.

Giulio Ciccone's pink jersey dream ended before the 31-year-old Italian even got to fully savor the moment. There was always a risk that the fifth stage, seemingly tailor-made for a breakaway, could see a change in race lead... However the way Lidl-Trek went about the defense of the maglia rosa was...

Attackers All Day cycling kit range gets a major update, combining features and colors for a collection that works together in more ways than one. Designed for (yep) all-day comfort, theyve also got pockets enough for a days worth of snacks.The collection includes mens and womens bib shorts, cargo bibshorts, short- and long-sleeve jerseys, a thermal long-sleeve jersey, and merino wool base layers. The muted color palette is fully modern, and easy to mix and match across the entire line. Mix and match and a few pieces will go all day season. Heres the detailsThe bibs use a softer material for the front straps, then connect with a wider mesh panel across the back. It seems wide, but weve found it to be comfortable and not too hot. The upside is its all very supportive, especially if you use the mini pockets on the back.The leg grippers are mini dots of silicone, with a wider woven band that adds compression. Fair warning, Attaquers bib short legs are longer than most, stopping just above the knee even on taller folks, so shorties may want to look elsewhere.The jerseys have larger main rear pockets like normal (two on womens, three on mens), plus two smaller pockets on the sides (one per side). Reinforcements on the stitching for improved durability, particularly where the pockets attach to the mesh. Jerseys are available in short- and long-sleeve versions, both summer weight with plenty of mesh and easy-stretch materials. The thermal winter version (not shown above) has a few clever touches, too namely, PFC-free DWR, fleece collar, and reverse-fleeced arm cuffs for wiping your nose.Available now, and if youre a fan of last seasons colors and design (which is considerably different), those are on sale on their website. If you like the new-new, they typically offer bundle deals if you buy a full kit.AttaquerCycling.comThe post Attaquer Goes All Day with Updated Endurance Cycling Kits appeared first on Bikerumor.

Traditional French outfitSt Michel - Preference Home - Auber93 will close its men's branch to focus solely on its women's team from 2027 onwards. This marks the end of a story which started back in 1980s as the team from Aubervilliers gained strong reputation on French roads, turning professional i...

After yesterday's monstrosity of a Giro stage, Callum has just about dried off to make it here, dredging the internet on your behalf

In womens cycling, no name has been brighter over the past few months than Paula Blasi. The 23-year-old has emerged as a top star in the space of just a month. Since winning the Amstel Gold Race, her rise has been the kind that deserves a careful place in the history books. Because just three weeks...