Port Sant´Elpidio, 17th of March – 2014
Today’s 189 kilometer long 6th and penultimate stage of Tirreno-Adriatico offered one final chance for the sprinters and breakaway riders to succeed as the stretch from Bucchianico to Port Sant´Elpidio was rather flat with a slightly undulating finale. For Tinkoff-Saxo it was all about safety and supporting the leading rider, Alberto Contador through the stage without mishaps.
Four riders, Peter Kennaugh (Sky), Steve Morabito (BMC), Jack Bauer (Garmin-Sharp) and Cesare Benedetti (NetApp-Endura) greeted the challenge and formed the front group of the day. But towards the final 35 kilometers of the stage, the course became a little bumpy and as several other sprinters were dropped on the slopes, the Cannondale riders di not hesitate to increase the pace of the pack to prevent them from coming back and at the same time drag the escapees back.
With ten kilometers remaining, the break was caught and Mark Cavendish, André Greipel, Mark Renshaw and Peter Sagan lined up their teammates for a hectic finish and the Manx missile was absolutely flying and took the stage in superb style. A pile-up close to the finish line didn’t make it more difficult for him though.
Tinkoff-Saxo’s Alberto Contador crossed the finish line surrounded by teammates and is now ready for the final and crucial 9 kilometer long individual time trial tomorrow.
DS, Philippe Mauduit comments:
“It was a perfect scenario for us. We were hoping that the sprinter teams would take the reigns of the pack and as Kittel was dropped, they were all eager to work in the front so we didn’t have to. Now, we’re only one stage away from the overall win and let’s face it, it looks pretty promising with a two minute lead to Quintana. But history shows that many unforeseen things can happen during a time trial and we’re not celebrating until Alberto crossed the finish line tomorrow. Roman is in a good position as well and if he can finish second overall, it would be a major achievement for us. However, he has been working hard the whole week for Alberto and Quintana has time trials before,” Mauduit concluded.
Stage result:
1 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Omega Pharma – Quick-Step 4:16:15
2 Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Omega Pharma – Quick-Step
3 Peter Sagan (Svk) Cannondale
4 Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ.fr
5 Tony Hurel (Fra) Team Europcar
6 Robert Wagner (Ger) Belkin Pro Cycling Team
7 Kristian Sbaragli (Ita) MTN – Qhubeka
8 Bartosz Huzarski (Pol) Team NetApp – Endura
9 Mark Renshaw (Aus) Omega Pharma – Quick-Step
10 Davide Appollonio (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
General classification after stage 6:
1 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo
2 Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas (Col) Movistar Team 0:02:08
3 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Tinkoff-Saxo 0:02:15
4 Julian David Moreno (Col) Trek Factory Racing 0:02:39
5 Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:02:40
6 Mikel Nieve Ituralde (Spa) Team Sky 0:02:50
7 Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Team Katusha 0:02:51
8 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 0:02:56
9 Giampaolo Caruso (Ita) Team Katusha 0:02:58
10 Robert Kiserlovski (Cro) Trek Factory Racing 0:03:06
