- Pelayo Sanchez wins the 6th stage of the Giro d’Italia over 180 km from Viareggio to Rapolano Terme.
- The hilly stage is decided in a three-man sprint by a breakaway group.
- There are no changes at the top of the overall standings.
At the age of 24, Pelayo Sanchez (Movistar) has achieved the biggest victory of his career to date. The Spaniard beat his last escape colleagues Julian Alaphilippe and Luke Plapp in the final sprint on the 6th stage of the Giro d’Italia and could hardly believe his luck at the finish. It was the first victory by a Spaniard in Italy in almost 5 years.
Alaphilippe narrowly missed breaking into an illustrious circle. If the French world champion from 2020 and 2021 had been successful, he would have been able to claim daily victories in all 3 major national tours.
Plapp only overtakes Pogacar virtually
On the partly white gravel sections – which are usually used on the Strade Bianche – the trio, which had broken away 45 km from the finish in Rapolano Terme, had gained a lead of up to 3 minutes. This meant that Plapp was the virtual leader of the Tour of Italy. In the end, the trio saved almost 30 seconds from the chasing field.
So in the end everything remained the same at the front: Tadej Pogacar retained the “Maglia Rosa”, which he had conquered with his solo victory on the 2nd stage. This year the Slovenian is aiming for the extremely rare double of the Giro and the Tour de France. The last time Marco Pantani achieved this was in 1998.
This is how it continues
There are likely to be major changes in the overall ranking on Friday, when the first of two individual time trials between Foligno and Perugia is on the program. The 40.6 km long course is predominantly flat up to the 2nd timing point at race kilometer 34, after which there is a 6.6 km long climb in the 4th category up to the finish.