Date: Thursday, May 15
Distance: 227km
Start location: Potenza
Finish location: Napoli
Start time: 11:30 CEST
Finish time: 17:15 CEST (approx.)
For noblemen in early modern Europe, the phrase ‘Grand Tour’ did not mean a three-week bike race, but rather a cultural trip around Europe’s greatest sights undertaken by young men of means. One such traveller was the great German romantic writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, who, in 1787, visited and was overwhelmed by the beauty of Naples. “One may write or paint as much as one likes,” he wrote in his travel journal ‘Italian Journey, “but this place, the shore, the gulf, Vesuvius, the citadels, the villas, everything, defies description.”
The Giro organisers clearly agree, as for the fourth year running, they have included a stage with a finish in Napoli. Last year, on a finishing straight that overlooked the famously beautiful view of the Amalfi Coast, Olav Kooij stormed past Jonathan Milan to take his maiden Grand Tour stage in a bunch sprint, though only just catching the lone attacker Jhonatan Narváez in time, who had jumped out of the peloton 8km from the finish, and was brought back partly because of work done by none other than Tadej Pogačar in the pink jersey, working selflessly for his sprinter teammate Juan Sebastián Molano (who finished third). The breakaway duo of Alessandro De Marchi and Simon Clarke came similarly close to surviving on the same finishing straight the year before, only for a bunch led by Mads Pedersen to overtake them in the final few hundred metres, but in 2022 the break did successfully hold off the peloton, with Thomas De Gent taking the glory.
Whereas these close encounters all reflected parcours that struck a fine balance between the breakaway and the sprinters, this 2025 version of the Napoli stage is more weighted towards the latter. The climbs aren’t as hard as they were in 2023, when some pure sprinters, notably Mark Cavendish, were taken out of contention early on. And unlike last year, when Narváez used a hill 8km from the finish to launch his near-successful move, the climbs are all concentrated early on in the stage, with the last one crested 82km from the finish ahead of a flat run-in.
That said, this is still a stage that poses several difficulties, and will not necessarily be decided by a bunch finish featuring all the sprinters. For one thing, at 227km it’s the longest stage of the whole race, more comparable to a classic than a Grand Tour stage. And though tackled early, the climbs are hard enough for a strong break to go clear and establish a lead, first up the long, 20km rise to Valico di Monte Carruozzo, then, after more undulating terrain, the category two Monteforte Irpino. However, with the next chance for a sprint not for another seven days, there will surely be a determined chase in the sprint to bring this back for a bunch finish.
Contenders
Unlike stage five’s lumpy finale, stage six gets the climbing out of the way early on meaning it will likely come down to a bunch sprint raced out between the pure sprinters. Olav Kooij (Team Visma-Lease a Bike) will be hoping that he can repeat his stage win in Napoli from last year and to turn his team’s fortunes around after a disappointing start to the Giro and the season as a whole. Kooij, whose best result so far is second on stage four, is not the only former winner in Napoli on the start line — the Giro’s man of the moment, Mads Pedersen (Lidl-Trek) has also won in the city and will be looking to add to his three stage wins and his maglia ciclamino points tally.
However, both men were beaten on the last flat finish on stage four by Casper van Uden (Team Picnic PostNL) who will be full of confidence and will be hoping his team can deliver him to the finale in a good position like they did on Tuesday. Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Sam Bennett (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale Team) were two of the main pure sprinters on the start line in Albania but both have yet to make an impression on the sprint finishes, with fifth and sixth respectively on stage four their best results so far at this Giro.
So far in this Grand Tour, like with Van Uden’s win, there have been a number of outsiders finishing high up in the sprints. Max Kanter (XDS Astana Team) beat Groves and Bennett to the line on Tuesday but was relegated for a dangerous sprint. Likewise, Orluis Aular (Movistar Team), Corbin Strong (Israel-Premier Tech), Maikel Zijlaard (Tudor Pro Cycling Team) have all done well so far and are dark horses for the stage.
However, as shown by Narváez’s effort last year, De Marchi and Clarke’s breakaway the year before and De Gendt's win in 2022, a bunch sprint in Napoli is not a foregone conclusion. Perhaps Ineos-Grenadiers, with their aggressive racing style could try and use team tactics to get away from the bunch. They certainly have the talent with stage two time trial winner Josh Tarling and the versatile Ben Turner among their ranks.
Prediction
We believe Mads Pedersen will extend his stage winning dominance and claim victory in Napoli like he did in 2023.
