Cycling: Pelayo Sanchez won the sixth stage of the Giro d'Italia. The Spaniard won the gravel section in Tuscany as a breakaway and thus celebrated the greatest success of his career.
Pelayo Sanchez wins ahead of Julian Alaphilippe
Stage win for Pelayo Sanchez (Movistar). On the 180 kilometer long section from Viareggio to Rapolano Terme, the Spaniard managed to break away from his two companions Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal – Quick-Step) from France and Luke Plop (Jayco – AlUla) from Australia prevail. The sixth stage of the Giro d'Italia was characterized by a long period of discovery. It was only after more than two hours that the first breakaway group formed. Afterwards, the British team Ineos Grenadiers repeatedly pushed the pace on the gravel sections, but did not consistently follow the breakaway group. It was a relatively quiet day for the classification drivers. None of the co-favorites lost any time. Tadej pogacar (UAE) will tackle tomorrow's time trial in the pink jersey.
Lipowitz has to give up the Giro d'Italia
Bad news for the German fans was spread before the start of today's sixth stage. Shooting star Florian Lipowitz (Bora – hansgrohe) unfortunately cannot continue the Giro d'Italia due to illness. Also no longer there today Michael Woods (Israel – Premier Tech) and Nadav Raisberg (Israel – Premier Tech). Yesterday already rose Adrian Petit (Intermarché – Wanty) from the bike.
https://velomotion.de/2024/05/dns-florian-lipowitz-muss-den-giro-aufgeben/
Hard fight for the breakaway
As expected, there should be an intense battle today to occupy the breakaway group. Numerous professionals painted this stage red and really wanted to get into the breakaway group. Only up to the mountain classification in Volterra were we able to get together Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal – Quick Step), Aurelien Paret Peintre (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) and Filippo Fiorelli (VF Group – Bardiani CSF – Faizanè) dropped three riders. However, since there were further attacks behind them, their lead did not increase significantly. Even before the sprint classification, several riders broke away, so that the breakaway group grew to over 20 men. This resulted in the seven-man group of the day Luke Plop (Jayco – AlUla), Matteo Trentin (Tudor), Filippo Fiorelli (VF Group – Bardiani CSF – Faizanè), Pelayo Sanchez (movistar), Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal – Quick Step), Andrea Vendrame (Decathlon AG2R La Mondiale) and sprinters Caden Groves (Alpecin – Deceuninck), who was able to get full points in the sprint classification.
Luke Plapp drives virtually into the pink jersey
The escape group was particularly motivated Luke Plop (Jayco-AlUla). The Australian champion rode virtually into the pink jersey as the best-placed of the breakaways. The seven leaders were given a lead of almost four minutes before the first gravel sector had to be completed. Up to Grotti - a fourth category mountain that had to be climbed on a gravel road - the leading group fell apart. The trio Julian Alaphilippe (Soudal – Quick Step), Luke Plop (Jayco-AlUla) and Pelayo Sanchez (Movistar) was able to pull away. The Ineos Grenadiers team in particular kept the pace high on the unpaved roads of the Strade Bianche, so that the gap to the breakaways dropped to less than two minutes. had bad luck Cian Uijtdebroeks (Visma – LaB) and Daniel Martinez (Bora – hansgrohe), who stood still briefly in a left-hand bend and had to invest a lot of energy to catch up with the favorite group again.
Excitement until the last kilometer
Since the pace in the peloton dropped after the second gravel sector, the three leaders were able to gain an advantage of almost three minutes again. A further increase in pace by Ineos Grenadiers on the third and final gravel section brought the peloton a little closer again. Due to the steep climb shortly before the finish, the group of favorites even came dangerously close. The gap was less than 20 seconds, 3,0 kilometers from the finish. But it was no longer enough to catch up. The trio - even if they didn't always agree - fought bravely and were finally able to win the stage among themselves.
| The three of us have the octopuses and we sprint... Pelayo Sánchez knocks Alaphilippe on the streep! #GirodItalia
Koers bought it on discovery+ pic.twitter.com/JtHfyBf0E7
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