Fernando Gaviria (UAE Team Emirates) was demoted on stage 6 of the Giro d'Italia after a collision with the DSM duo of Alberto Dainese and Cees Bol on the home straight.

Gaviria's frustration was compounded after he had suffered mechanical problems the previous afternoon and publicly blamed his bike.

Gaviria tried to jump to the right in the last 300m, leaving Arnaud Demare, Mark Cavendish, and Caleb Ewan behind.

He seemed to intend to go straight down the middle of it, but there was no gap between Dainese and the chosen sprinter, Bol.

Gaviria made contact with both riders, but somehow everyone managed to avoid crashing.

When the official final results were announced, Gaviria's name was listed in 150th place and he was relegated to the back of the main group by race officials.

UAE director Fabio Baldato was interviewed by Eurosport after the stage and said of the incident.

"From what I saw, [Gaviria] was boxed in. I can't say what happened until I talk to him."

"Everyone was leading out for Dainese and he stopped in the middle of the road. Gaviria was trying to bypass Dainese at the same time he started. Sadly, that can happen in a sprint; neither of them wanted to describe what happened.

"They waited until the last meter to come out. They all know they need to come out in the last meter. And they did. This is a sprint.

Analyzing the sprint finish on Eurosport television, Giro sprint stage winner Robbie McEwen described Gaviria's actions as "dangerous" and "a disaster."

The Australian also criticized the DSM duo's communication and the fact that Boll was on Dainese's right side, not his left, on the slight curve before the finish. However, he placed full blame on Gaviria for the collision.

"It was a dangerous incident. He made the wrong decision.

"Dainese swung off out of the way and knocked his teammate down, but Gaviria jumped in between them. It was recorded on the blue pool reel. It was a terrible decision."