What was a pan-flat stage-worthy for the sprinters turned into a crashed strewn stage into Cattolica. Caleb Ewan put on a powerhouse sprint to win but the GC hopes of Mikel Landa and Pavel Sivakov ended.
Giro contender, Mikel Landa left the race after crashing with Joe Dombrowski, after a Francois Bidard (AG2R-Citroen) hit a race marshal and road furniture 4km from the finish. Critical because it was outside the three-kilometer marker that would have spared those caught up any time losses.
"It's a relief because my goal this year is to win at least one stage in all three Grand Tours. There was pressure on me and the team to do a good job today. Now that I have won a stage I think I'll be hungry for more."
-Caleb Ewan
" A crazy circus. The road was really difficult and technical, even too dangerous in my opinion so in the last 70km there was really a lot of stress and I hope the guys that crashed are fine. Tomorrow I'll try to keep this jersey and also help Dan Martin."
-Alessandro De Marchi
"It was a fast and hectic sprint. Great job by the guys, especially Felix and Daniel in the finale. I was well-positioned but I got a bit slowed down in the last stretch and finished 4th."
-Peter Sagan
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