Queenslander Kaden Groves has found the going too hot on a sprinters' day at the Giro d'Italia as he missed out on a second stage win of the race and watched flying Dutchman Olav Kooij take the honours in another chaotic bunch finish at Viadana.
Having set off from Modena, the birthplace of Enzo Ferrari, Thursday's race ended with the race's purest F1 rockets duelling after 172km in the saddle, with Groves hopeful after prevailing in the previous mass sprint denouement on the wet, crash-hit sixth stage in Naples a week earlier.
This time, despite a striking late surge which looked momentarily as if it could earn him his 10th Grand Tour win as riders attacked the line all across the road, Kooij prevailed for his first win of the tour while Mexico's overall leader Isaac Del Toro slightly extended his advantage in the pink jersey.
