Stage 6 wrap: Castles and victory salutes

Today's Giro d'Italia stage visited Carrara in the Tuscany region. It's about time. We're now a week into the Giro, and I was beginning to think we were never going to see any "castle porn."

No Grand Tour is complete without gratuitous helicopter footage of majestic castles and villas, so I was relieved that we finally got some today. Even better, we also got some decent climbs. While they were merely a prelude to the more serious mountains still to come, they nonetheless made for a dramatic day of racing.

Best of all, we even got to see a solo victory. After spending most of the race off the front with Rubens Bertogliati, Matthew Lloyd rode away from him on the final climb and took the win well ahead of the pack. Solo wins are the castle porn of finishes, and a solo win without a good victory salute is like a castle without a turret. Lloyd did not disappoint -- he crossed the line with his arms fully extended, and the intense effort was visible in his tired expression.

Next came Bertogliati. Obviously a second-place finish does not warrant a victory salute, but when it's a solo second place finish it does merit a sign. The best thing to do is to lower your head and wave, and if done right it looks proud yet humble, like you're receiving an award at a Rotary convention. Bertlogliati, I'm pleased to say, nailed it.

Then the pack came in, and after a day of exquisite castles and perfect body language Danilo Hondo went and ruined everything by winning the field sprint for third yet giving a full-on victory salute like he'd just ridden himself into the maglia rosa.

Frankly, I found this to be in very poor taste. Sure, winning the field sprint is impressive, but a field sprint victory salute is like a turret on a suburban ranch home.