Clearly quickest out of a three man leading group, Peter Sagan (Cannondale) picked up his second stage win of this year’s Tirreno Adriatico when he outsprinted Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) and Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) to the line in Porto Sant’Elpidio.
At the end of a wet, difficult day in the saddle, the Slovakian rider blasted home two seconds clear of his breakaway companions, who were in turn 42 seconds ahead of a group containing Mauro Santambrogio (Vini Fantini), Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel), Chris Horner (RadioShack Leopard) and Alberto Contador (Team Saxo Tinkoff).
“I am very happy for another victory,” Sagan said afterwards. “Today it was a very hard race as it was a very hard parcours. Also there were too many riders in the breakaway and Sky were on the front all the race. Then when I felt I could make a good stage, I also told my riders to go on the front to bring back Cunego and the other riders in the breakaway.
“Anyway, I am very happy. Vincenzo did a very good attack on the climb and afterwards on the descent, then we did the last climb also with Joaquim who came on the front. From there it was only ten kilometres to the finish – I am very happy.”
Overnight race leader Chris Froome was distanced in the closing stages, going backwards around the same time that Nibali pushed forwards on the day’s third ascent of the wall-like Sant’Elipido climb. While the Sky rider chased hard to bridge up to a chasing group which also contained riders such as Cadel Evans and Thor Hushovd (both BMC Racing Team), they finished fifty seconds behind Sagan and 48 off the time of Nibali and Rodriguez.
This meant that Nibali took over as race leader. “It was a very hard day….very hard gradients,” he said. “Everyone was tired today but I was lucky, I had good work from my team. I’m extremely happy with this, but it will be a difficult stage tomorrow.”
The Italian, who won the race last year, ended the day with a 34 second advantage over his British rival and 48 over Contador.
He holds that advantage heading into tomorrow’s final stage, a 9.2 kilometre time trial. Froome is clearly strong against the clock but the margin gives Nibali over three seconds per kilometre of a buffer. That could well be enough, particularly as Nibali has said that he has made time trial improvements over the winter.
Early on, sixteen riders went clear and built a lead of over four minutes. From this bunch Tom Dumoulin (Argos Shimano) and Damiano Cunego (Lampre Merida) pushed clear on the second ascent of the climb and, while they were brought back, Dumoulin pushed ahead afterwards.
He was however caught by Benat Intxausti (Movistar Team), who dropped him on the third ascent and went over the summit with lead of several seconds over Nibali and Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel).
These had attacked the main group of favourites and caught Intxausti on the descent. The Movistar rider was dropped, but Sagan was able to bridge across and provide extra oomph.
He and Nibali pushed ahead and were then joined by Rodriguez with ten kilometres to go. The other GC contenders chased behind but were unable to get back on terms; that put Nibali firmly in the blue jersey, left Froome with a lot of work to do, and almost certainly spelled the end to Contador’s hopes of winning the race.
The latter put on a brave face on the stage, saying that he was ‘happy’ despite dropping from second to third overall. “It was very hard because there was a very steep hill…it was incredible, sometimes you couldn’t believe it was possible to go up it on the bike. In the final, I lost time with head of the race, but it is okay…I’m happy.”
Given his competitiveness, that seems unlikely to be the case; he’s almost 50 seconds behind Nibali now and surely has lost the chance to take the final blue jersey tomorrow.
How it unfolded:
Although it lacked the high mountain climbs of the previous two days, a very tough race was in store for the riders on stage six of Tirreno Adriatico. The 209 kilometre leg started and finished in Porto Sant’Elpidio and took in three laps of a difficult circuit, with each one bringing the riders up the wall-like Sant’Elipido a Mare climb.
With the GC contenders likely to focus on each other and their battle for the blue jersey, many riders reasoned that a break might have a chance of staying away and thus attacked after the drop of the flag. After a succession of unsuccessful moves, a break of sixteen managed to get established approximately twenty kilometres in: these were Classics specialist Fabian Cancellara (RadioShack), Ag2r la Mondiale’s Rinaldo Nocentini and Matteo Montaguti, Lars Boom (Blanco), Damiano Cunego (Lampre-Merida), Giovanni Visconti and Benat Intxausti (Movistar Team), Egoi Martínez (Euskaltel-Euskadi), Angel Vicioso (Katusha), Daryl Impey and Stuart O'Grady (Orica-Greenedge), Mauro Finetto (Vini Fantini), Matthieu Sprick and Tom Dumoulin (Argos-Shimano), Paul Voss (NetApp-Endura) and Mirko Selvaggi (Vacansoleil-DCM).
They established a gap of three and a half minutes after 58 kilometres of racing. Around the same time, news came through that Andy Schleck had retired from the race; he was badly injured last year when he crashed in the Critérium du Dauphiné and while he appeared to be in improving form, he threw in the towel today.
Several others also did likewise, including Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma Quick Step), Jelle Vanendert (Lotto Belisol), Peter Kennaugh (Sky) and Robbie Hunter (Garmin-Sharp).
After just over 72 kilometres of racing, the break raced on to the first ascent of the ferociously steep climb. The gap back to the peloton was three minutes at that stage. Despite the gradient, the break remained together after the summit and continued to build its lead, with the advantage going out to four minutes 25 seconds by kilometre 109, then dropping slightly to four minutes by kilometre 121.
The bunch began to ramp up the pace and with 60 kilometres left to race, the break’s margin was down to three minutes. Seven kilometres later Dumoulin attacked and got clear, then was soon joined by Cuengo.
The duo raced onto the second ascent of the Sant’Elpidio a Mare climb with 47 kilometres to go, and there Cunego pulled several lengths clear of Dumoulin. The Italian was forced to sit in the saddle as his rear wheel was otherwise spinning while standing. He pushed on towards the top, and was rejoined by the Argos Shimano rider there.
The duo were caught by Visconti and Selvaggi, with Martinez, Intxausti and Impey getting back up again 34 kilometres from the finish. At that point in time the bunch was two and a half minutes back, making it possible for things to come back together by the finish.
Perhaps thinking of Peter Sagan, the Cannondale team were chasing behind and this pressure continued to narrow the gap. It was down to one and a half minutes with 25 kilometres left, then soon dropped to one minute twenty. Dumoulin was concerned and clipped clear 21.5 kilometres from the line, seeking to build as much momentum and buffer as possible before the final ascent of the climb.
Intxausti was feeling good and jumped clear in pursuit, opening a gap on the others and then getting back to Dumoulin with just under nineteen kilometres left to race. The peloton was just 45 seconds back at that point and things were looking ominous, but the duo plugged away in the hope that the bunch would ease back.
They raced onto the climb, tackling it from the opposite direction this time, while behind the Cunego group was being caught by the bunch. Intxausti pushed ahead of a tiring Dumoulin, who was suffering the effects of his attacks, and opened a lead of several seconds.
The big guns fire and upend the race:
Dumoulin was caught by the bunch and while Intxausti went over the top first, he had but a small lead and seemed destined to be gobbled up. Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) and Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel) went over the summit next in line and pushed ahead on the descent. They caught the leader 13.7 kilometres from the finish and Nibali went straight past, leaning into a tuck position to eke out as much speed on the descent as possible.
Various other riders were also close by, including Peter Sagan (Cannondale). He joined Nibali, Intxausti and Sanchez with thirteen kilometres left and together they tried to extend their advantage over the chasers.
Contador had appeared to be slightly delayed on the climb but got into the chase group; Froome was missing and this prompted Contador to take up the pursuit behind, leading this bunch along. Chris Horner (RadioShack Leopard) was bolted to his back wheel, conscious that the GC of the race could be reshaped.
Nibali had started the day third overall but level on time with Contador, who was second. Both were twenty seconds behind Froome and with the race leader’s jersey and the stage win up for grabs, Nibali and Sagan pushed on together.
Yesterday’s winner Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) was in the Contador group and jumped clear on a drag to try to get up to the two leaders. He managed to do just that, linking up before the start of a descent, ten kilometres from the finish.
Meanwhile further back, Froome had left the group he was with and was chasing hard to try to join the next bunch on the road. Contador was also chasing alone, although further ahead; he bridged up to a three man group containing Mauro Santambrogio (Vini Fantini), Chris Horner (RadioShack Leopard) and Samuel Sanchez (Euskaltel), and these tried desperately to get back on terms.
With 6.8 kilometre to go, Nibali’s group was 22 seconds ahead of the Contador quartet. Froome’s bunch was 51 seconds back, putting him at that point out of the race lead. Nibali knew that he could be racing into the blue jersey and hammered it, digging in with Sagan and Rodriguez to further extend their lead. With two kilometres left they were forty seconds ahead of Contador’s group and a further thirteen up on the Froome/Evans bunch. These gaps persisted under the kite for the final kilometre and, as expected, Nibali continued to drive for time.
Rodriguez was also looking to move up overall and he chose to push onwards rather than think of the stage; that suited Sagan perfectly, who had no problems in taking the sprint victory.
Behind, Santambrogio won the sprint from the Contador group, bringing them home 43 seconds back; Froome’s group was a further five seconds behind, with this deficit confirming that Nibali would be the new race leader.
Tirreno Adriatico (WorldTour)
Stage 6, Porto Sant'Elpidio:
1, Peter Sagan (Cannondale Pro Cycling) 209 kilometres in 5 hours 45 mins 17 secs
2, Vincenzo Nibali (Astana Pro Team) at 2 secs
3, Joaquim Rodriguez Oliver (Katusha)
4, Mauro Santambrogio (Vini Fantini-Selle Italia) at 44 secs
5, Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Euskaltel-Euskadi)
6, Christopher Horner (RadioShack Leopard)
7, Alberto Contador Velasco (Team Saxo-Tinkoff)
8, Jurgen Roelandts (Lotto Belisol) at 50 secs
9, Thor Hushovd (BMC Racing Team)
10, Simon Geschke (Team Argos-Shimano)
11, Daniele Pietropolli (Lampre-Merida)
12, Andrey Amador Bakkazakova (Movistar Team)
13, Wouter Poels (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team)
14, Bauke Mollema (Blanco Pro Cycling Team)
15, Domenico Pozzovivo (AG2R La Mondiale)
16, Michal Kwiatkowski (Omega Pharma-Quick Step)
17, Przemyslaw Niemiec (Lampre-Merida)
18, Cadel Evans (BMC Racing Team)
19, Christopher Froome (Sky Procycling)
20, Matteo Rabottini (Vini Fantini-Selle Italia) at 1 min 55 secs
21, Arthur Vichot (FDJ)
22, Daryl Impey (Orica-GreenEdge) at 1 min 56 secs
23, Sergio Luis Henao Montoya (Sky Procycling)
24, Roman Kreuziger (Team Saxo-Tinkoff) at 2 mins 16 secs
25, Kristijan Koren (Cannondale Pro Cycling)
26, Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Movistar Team)
27, José Joao Pimenta Costa Mendes (Team NetApp-Endura)
28, Miguel Minguez Ayala (Euskaltel-Euskadi)
29, Jonathan Castroviejo Nicolas (Movistar Team)
30, Mirko Selvaggi (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team)
31, Francisco José Ventoso Alberdi (Movistar Team)
32, Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Katusha) at 3 mins 6 secs
33, Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing Team)
34, Benat Intxausti Elorriaga (Movistar Team)
35, Hayden Roulston (RadioShack Leopard) at 4 mins 18 secs
36, Damiano Caruso (Cannondale Pro Cycling)
37, Damiano Cunego (Lampre-Merida)
38, Tom Dumoulin (Team Argos-Shimano)
39, Giovanni Visconti (Movistar Team)
40, Daniel Martin (Garmin-Sharp)
41, Paul Voss (Team NetApp-Endura) at 4 mins 39 secs
42, Gerald Ciolek (MTN-Qhubeka)
43, Matteo Montaguti (AG2R La Mondiale) at 6 mins 12 secs
44, Bartosz Huzarski (Team NetApp-Endura)
45, Stijn Devolder (RadioShack Leopard)
46, Alessandro Vanotti (Astana Pro Team)
47, Tom Jelte Slagter (Blanco Pro Cycling Team)
48, Jorge Azanza Soto (Euskaltel-Euskadi)
49, Egoi Martinez De Esteban (Euskaltel-Euskadi)
50, Tony Martin (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) at 7 mins 22 secs
51, Zdenek Stybar (Omega Pharma-Quick Step)
52, Mauro Finetto (Vini Fantini-Selle Italia)
53, Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team) at 7 mins 45 secs
54, Jan Barta (Team NetApp-Endura) at 9 mins 57 secs
55, Rohan Dennis (Garmin-Sharp)
56, Angel Vicioso Arcos (Katusha)
57, Adriano Malori (Lampre-Merida)
58, Matthieu Sprick (Team Argos-Shimano)
59, Sandy Casar (FDJ)
60, Rigoberto Uran Uran (Sky Procycling)
61, Alex Dowsett (Movistar Team)
62, Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Sharp)
63, Yaroslav Popovych (RadioShack Leopard) at 13 mins 32 secs
64, Fabio Sabatini (Cannondale Pro Cycling)
65, Maciej Bodnar (Cannondale Pro Cycling)
66, Alan Marangoni (Cannondale Pro Cycling)
67, Moreno Moser (Cannondale Pro Cycling)
68, Fabian Cancellara (RadioShack Leopard)
69, Davide Cimolai (Lampre-Merida)
70, Michael Schär (BMC Racing Team) at 15 mins 11 secs
71, Cédric Pineau (FDJ) at 15 mins 45 secs
72, Anthony Roux (FDJ)
73, Johannes Fröhlinger (Team Argos-Shimano)
74, Matteo Tosatto (Team Saxo-Tinkoff) at 18 mins 42 secs
75, Manuel Quinziato (BMC Racing Team)
76, Sergio Miguel Moreira Paulinho (Team Saxo-Tinkoff)
77, Dario Cataldo (Sky Procycling)
78, Adam Hansen (Lotto Belisol)
79, Stefano Garzelli (Vini Fantini-Selle Italia)
80, Lars Boom (Blanco Pro Cycling Team)
81, Lars Petter Nordhaug (Blanco Pro Cycling Team)
82, Maarten Wynants (Blanco Pro Cycling Team)
83, Paul Martens (Blanco Pro Cycling Team)
84, Janez Brajkovic (Astana Pro Team)
85, Jesus Hernandez Blazquez (Team Saxo-Tinkoff)
86, Ioannis Tamouridis (Euskaltel-Euskadi)
87, Cesare Benedetti (Team NetApp-Endura)
88, Sergio Pardilla Bellon (MTN-Qhubeka)
89, Davide Appollonio (AG2R La Mondiale)
90, Ben Gastauer (AG2R La Mondiale)
91, Manuel Belletti (AG2R La Mondiale)
92, Sergey Lagutin (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team)
93, Rinaldo Nocentini (AG2R La Mondiale)
94, Salvatore Puccio (Sky Procycling)
95, Roberto Ferrari (Lampre-Merida)
96, Maxim Belkov (Katusha)
97, Garikoitz Bravo Oiarbide (Euskaltel-Euskadi)
98, Jacobus Venter (MTN-Qhubeka)
99, Oscar Gatto (Vini Fantini-Selle Italia) at 19 mins 56 secs
100, Klaas Lodewyck (BMC Racing Team)
101, Danilo Hondo (RadioShack Leopard)
102, André Greipel (Lotto Belisol)
103, Sebastian Langeveld (Orica-GreenEdge)
104, Aliaksandr Kuchynski (Katusha)
105, Mickael Delage (FDJ) at 23 mins 2 secs
106, Jens Mouris (Orica-GreenEdge)
107, Martin Velits (Omega Pharma-Quick Step)
108, Arnaud Demare (FDJ)
109, Taylor Phinney (BMC Racing Team) at 37 mins 37 secs (outside time limit)
Did not start:
Dmitriy Gruzdev (Astana Pro Team)
Svein Tuft (Orica-GreenEdge)
Did not finish:
Albert Timmer (Team Argos-Shimano)
Andreas Stauff (MTN-Qhubeka)
Andy Schleck (RadioShack Leopard)
Boy van Poppel (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team)
Brett Lancaster (Orica-GreenEdge)
Christian Knees (Sky Procycling)
Daniel Schorn (Team NetApp-Endura)
Daniele Bennati (Team Saxo-Tinkoff)
David De La Cruz Melgarejo (Team NetApp-Endura)
Dmitriy Muravyev (Astana Pro Team)
Eros Capecchi (Movistar Team)
Filippo Pozzato (Lampre-Merida)
Fredrik Carl Wilhelm Kessiakoff (Astana Pro Team)
Giacomo Nizzolo (RadioShack Leopard)
Greg Henderson (Lotto Belisol)
Grega Bole (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team)
Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Omega Pharma-Quick Step)
Jay Robert Thomson (MTN-Qhubeka)
Jelle Vanendert (Lotto Belisol)
Joseph Lloyd Dombrowski (Sky Procycling)
Kevin Hulsmans (Vini Fantini-Selle Italia)
Koen De Kort (Team Argos-Shimano)
Kristian Sbaragli (MTN-Qhubeka)
Laurent Mangel (FDJ)
Luca Paolini (Katusha)
Manuele Boaro (Team Saxo-Tinkoff)
Marcel Sieberg (Lotto Belisol)
Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma-Quick Step)
Matthew Harley Goss (Orica-GreenEdge)
Michael Rogers (Team Saxo-Tinkoff)
Mitchell Docker (Orica-GreenEdge)
Murilo Antonio Fischer (FDJ)
Niki Terpstra (Omega Pharma-Quick Step)
Paolo Tiralongo (Astana Pro Team)
Pavel Brutt (Katusha)
Peter Kennaugh (Sky Procycling)
Ramon Sinkeldam (Team Argos-Shimano)
Ramunas Navardauskas (Garmin-Sharp)
Ricardo Garcia Ambroa (Euskaltel-Euskadi)
Robert Hunter (Garmin-Sharp)
Robert Vrecer (Euskaltel-Euskadi)
Sébastien Rosseler (Garmin-Sharp)
Stephen Cummings (BMC Racing Team)
Steve Chainel (AG2R La Mondiale)
Stuart O'Grady (Orica-GreenEdge)
Thomas Dekker (Garmin-Sharp)
Tiziano Dall'Antonia (Cannondale Pro Cycling)
Tomasz Marczynski (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team)
Valerio Agnoli (Astana Pro Team)
Vicente Reynes Mimo (Lotto Belisol)
Vladimir Isaichev (Katusha)
Zakkari Dempster (Team NetApp-Endura)
Intermediate sprints:
Fermo, km 105.9:
1, Egoi Martinez De Esteban (Euskaltel-Euskadi) 5 pts
2, Damiano Cunego (Lampre-Merida) 3
3, Benat Intxausti Elorriaga (Movistar Team) 2
4, Lars Boom (Blanco Pro Cycling Team) 1
Porto Sant’Elpiodo:
1, Mirko Selvaggi (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team) 5 pts
2, Damiano Cunego (Lampre-Merida) 3
3, Tom Dumoulin (Team Argos-Shimano) 2
4, Giovanni Visconti (Movistar Team) 1
King of the Mountains:
Sant'Elpidio a Mare (km 72.1):
1, Damiano Cunego (Lampre-Merida) 5 pts
2, Lars Boom (Blanco Pro Cycling Team) 3
3, Paul Voss (Team NetApp-Endura) 2
4, Rinaldo Nocentini (AG2R La Mondiale) 1
Sant'Elpidio a Mare (km 163.3):
1, Damiano Cunego (Lampre-Merida) 5 pts
2, Tom Dumoulin (Team Argos-Shimano) 3
3, Mirko Selvaggi (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team) 2
4, Rinaldo Nocentini (AG2R La Mondiale) 1
Sant'Elpidio a Mare (km 191.5):
1, Benat Intxausti Elorriaga (Movistar Team) 5 pts
2, Vincenzo Nibali (Astana Pro Team) 3
3, Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) 2
4, Daryl Impey (Orica-GreenEdge) 1
General classification after stage 6:
1, Vincenzo Nibali (Astana Pro Team) 27 hours 57 mins 26 secs
2, Christopher Froome (Sky Procycling) at 34 secs
3, Joaquim Rodriguez Oliver (Katusha) at 37 secs
4, Alberto Contador Velasco (Team Saxo-Tinkoff) at 48 secs
5, Michal Kwiatkowski (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) at 58 secs
6, Christopher Horner (RadioShack Leopard) at 1 min 5 secs
7, Mauro Santambrogio (Vini Fantini-Selle Italia) at 1 min 20 secs
8, Przemyslaw Niemiec (Lampre-Merida) at 2 mins 54 secs
9, Andrey Amador Bakkazakova (Movistar Team) at 2 mins 58 secs
10, Wouter Poels (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team) at 3 mins 8 secs
11, Domenico Pozzovivo (AG2R La Mondiale) at 3 mins 10 secs
12, Roman Kreuziger (Team Saxo-Tinkoff) at 3 mins 27 secs
13, Sergio Luis Henao Montoya (Sky Procycling) at 3 mins 31 secs
14, Jonathan Castroviejo Nicolas (Movistar Team) at 4 mins 50 secs
15, Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Katusha) at 4 mins 56 secs
16, Matteo Rabottini (Vini Fantini-Selle Italia) at 5 mins 25 secs
17, Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Movistar Team) at 5 mins 35 secs
18, Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) at 5 mins 55 secs
19, Daniel Martin (Garmin-Sharp) at 6 mins 50 secs
20, Damiano Caruso (Cannondale Pro Cycling) at 7 mins 4 secs
21, Bauke Mollema (Blanco Pro Cycling Team) at 7 mins 16 secs
22, Cadel Evans (BMC Racing Team) at 9 mins 25 secs
23, José Joao Pimenta Costa Mendes (Team NetApp-Endura) at 9 mins 27 secs
24, Paul Voss (Team NetApp-Endura) at 9 mins 38 secs
25, Rigoberto Uran Uran (Sky Procycling) at 10 mins 38 secs
26, Daniele Pietropolli (Lampre-Merida) at 16 mins 16 secs
27, Arthur Vichot (FDJ) at 16 mins 56 secs
28, Tom Jelte Slagter (Blanco Pro Cycling Team) at 17 mins 8 secs
29, Tony Martin (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) at 18 mins 15 secs
30, Egoi Martinez De Esteban (Euskaltel-Euskadi) at 18 mins 19 secs
31, Damiano Cunego (Lampre-Merida) at 19 mins 13 secs
32, Matteo Montaguti (AG2R La Mondiale) at 19 mins 30 secs
33, Peter Sagan (Cannondale Pro Cycling) at 20 mins 23 secs
34, Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team) at 21 mins 2 secs
35, Tom Dumoulin (Team Argos-Shimano) at 21 mins 5 secs
36, Rinaldo Nocentini (AG2R La Mondiale) at 21 mins 31 secs
37, Sergio Pardilla Bellon (MTN-Qhubeka) at 21 mins 54 secs
38, Giovanni Visconti (Movistar Team) at 22 mins 34 secs
39, Simon Geschke (Team Argos-Shimano) at 24 mins 11 secs
40, Mirko Selvaggi (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team) at 24 mins 15 secs
41, Moreno Moser (Cannondale Pro Cycling) at 24 mins 20 secs
42, Sergey Lagutin (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team) at 24 mins 21 secs
43, Jorge Azanza Soto (Euskaltel-Euskadi)
44, Zdenek Stybar (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) at 26 mins 9 secs
45, Bartosz Huzarski (Team NetApp-Endura) at 27 mins 15 secs
46, Dario Cataldo (Sky Procycling) at 27 mins 23 secs
47, Benat Intxausti Elorriaga (Movistar Team) at 27 mins 33 secs
48, Michael Schär (BMC Racing Team) at 28 mins 50 secs
49, Greg Van Avermaet (BMC Racing Team) at 29 mins 17 secs
50, Janez Brajkovic (Astana Pro Team) at 30 mins 43 secs
51, Sandy Casar (FDJ) at 31 mins 37 secs
52, Angel Vicioso Arcos (Katusha) at 31 mins 39 secs
53, Jesus Hernandez Blazquez (Team Saxo-Tinkoff) at 32 mins 7 secs
54, Mauro Finetto (Vini Fantini-Selle Italia) at 34 mins 40 secs
55, Kristijan Koren (Cannondale Pro Cycling) at 35 mins 11 secs
56, Francisco José Ventoso Alberdi (Movistar Team) at 35 mins 26 secs
57, Stijn Devolder (RadioShack Leopard) at 35 mins 58 secs
58, Jan Barta (Team NetApp-Endura) at 36 mins 51 secs
59, Maxim Belkov (Katusha) at 37 mins 32 secs
60, Cédric Pineau (FDJ) at 39 mins 38 secs
61, Anthony Roux (FDJ) at 39 mins 57 secs
62, Thor Hushovd (BMC Racing Team) at 40 mins 8 secs
63, Alex Dowsett (Movistar Team) at 40 mins 51 secs
64, Jurgen Roelandts (Lotto Belisol) at 41 mins 6 secs
65, Yaroslav Popovych (RadioShack Leopard) at 41 mins 7 secs
66, Adriano Malori (Lampre-Merida) at 41 mins 15 secs
67, Daryl Impey (Orica-GreenEdge) at 41 mins 23 secs
68, Ben Gastauer (AG2R La Mondiale) at 41 mins 36 secs
69, Alessandro Vanotti (Astana Pro Team) at 42 mins 2 secs
70, Miguel Minguez Ayala (Euskaltel-Euskadi) at 42 mins 4 secs
71, Salvatore Puccio (Sky Procycling) at 43 mins 56 secs
72, Fabian Cancellara (RadioShack Leopard) at 43 mins 58 secs
73, Hayden Roulston (RadioShack Leopard) at 44 mins 26 secs
74, Gerald Ciolek (MTN-Qhubeka) at 44 mins 38 secs
75, Paul Martens (Blanco Pro Cycling Team) at 45 mins 3 secs
76, Johannes Fröhlinger (Team Argos-Shimano) at 45 mins 20 secs
77, Rohan Dennis (Garmin-Sharp) at 46 mins 37 secs
78, Sebastian Langeveld (Orica-GreenEdge) at 47 mins 17 secs
79, Stefano Garzelli (Vini Fantini-Selle Italia) at 48 mins 30 secs
80, Sergio Miguel Moreira Paulinho (Team Saxo-Tinkoff) at 49 mins 18 secs
81, Jacobus Venter (MTN-Qhubeka) at 51 mins 14 secs
82, Tyler Farrar (Garmin-Sharp) at 52 mins 32 secs
83, Davide Cimolai (Lampre-Merida) at 53 mins 10 secs
84, Lars Boom (Blanco Pro Cycling Team) at 53 mins 44 secs
85, Adam Hansen (Lotto Belisol) at 53 mins 46 secs
86, Oscar Gatto (Vini Fantini-Selle Italia) at 54 mins 13 secs
87, Maciej Bodnar (Cannondale Pro Cycling) at 54 mins 44 secs
88, Aliaksandr Kuchynski (Katusha) at 55 mins 4 secs
89, Lars Petter Nordhaug (Blanco Pro Cycling Team) at 55 mins 5 secs
90, Fabio Sabatini (Cannondale Pro Cycling) at 55 mins 48 secs
91, Matthieu Sprick (Team Argos-Shimano) at 56 mins 38 secs
92, Manuel Quinziato (BMC Racing Team) at 57 mins 1 secs
93, Ioannis Tamouridis (Euskaltel-Euskadi) at 58 mins 44 secs
94, Danilo Hondo (RadioShack Leopard) at 59 mins 29 secs
95, André Greipel (Lotto Belisol) at 59 mins 48 secs
96, Mickael Delage (FDJ) at 59 mins 54 secs
97, Klaas Lodewyck (BMC Racing Team) at 1:0 mins 4 secs
98, Alan Marangoni (Cannondale Pro Cycling) at 1:0 mins 13 secs
99, Manuel Belletti (AG2R La Mondiale) at 1:0 mins 54 secs
100, Cesare Benedetti (Team NetApp-Endura) at 1:3 mins 26 secs
101, Matteo Tosatto (Team Saxo-Tinkoff) at 1:3 mins 48 secs
102, Roberto Ferrari (Lampre-Merida) at 1:5 mins 58 secs
103, Maarten Wynants (Blanco Pro Cycling Team) at 1:6 mins 37 secs
104, Davide Appollonio (AG2R La Mondiale) at 1:7 mins 53 secs
105, Garikoitz Bravo Oiarbide (Euskaltel-Euskadi) at 1:8 mins 22 secs
106, Arnaud Demare (FDJ) at 1:9 mins 29 secs
107, Jens Mouris (Orica-GreenEdge) at 1 hours 13 mins 57 secs
108, Martin Velits (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) at 1 hours 15 mins 38 secs
Points:
1, Alberto Contador Velasco (Team Saxo-Tinkoff) 27 pts
2, Peter Sagan (Cannondale Pro Cycling) 26
3, Vincenzo Nibali (Astana Pro Team) 25
4, Mauro Santambrogio (Vini Fantini-Selle Italia) 24
5, Joaquim Rodriguez Oliver (Katusha) 22
6, Christopher Froome (Sky Procycling) 20
7, Christopher Horner (RadioShack Leopard) 17
8, Gerald Ciolek (MTN-Qhubeka) 15
9, Michal Kwiatkowski (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) 12
10, André Greipel (Lotto Belisol) 12
11, Manuel Belletti (AG2R La Mondiale) 12
12, Cesare Benedetti (Team NetApp-Endura) 11
13, Bauke Mollema (Blanco Pro Cycling Team) 10
14, Damiano Cunego (Lampre-Merida) 9
15, Roberto Ferrari (Lampre-Merida) 7
16, Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) 6
17, Rigoberto Uran Uran (Sky Procycling) 6
18, Mirko Selvaggi (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team) 5
19, Stijn Devolder (RadioShack Leopard) 5
20, Anthony Roux (FDJ) 5
21, Maciej Bodnar (Cannondale Pro Cycling) 5
22, Thor Hushovd (BMC Racing Team) 5
23, Davide Cimolai (Lampre-Merida) 5
24, Arnaud Demare (FDJ) 5
Mountains:
1, Damiano Cunego (Lampre-Merida) 20 pts
2, Cesare Benedetti (Team NetApp-Endura) 13
3, Garikoitz Bravo Oiarbide (Euskaltel-Euskadi) 10
4, Christopher Froome (Sky Procycling) 9
5, Joaquim Rodriguez Oliver (Katusha) 5
6, Benat Intxausti Elorriaga (Movistar Team) 5
7, Vincenzo Nibali (Astana Pro Team) 5
8, Anthony Roux (FDJ) 5
9, Mauro Santambrogio (Vini Fantini-Selle Italia) 3
10, Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team) 3
11, Tom Dumoulin (Team Argos-Shimano) 3
12, Dario Cataldo (Sky Procycling) 3
13, Lars Boom (Blanco Pro Cycling Team) 3
14, Alberto Contador Velasco (Team Saxo-Tinkoff) 2
15, Sergio Luis Henao Montoya (Sky Procycling) 2
16, Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Euskaltel-Euskadi) 2
17, Paul Voss (Team NetApp-Endura) 2
18, Rinaldo Nocentini (AG2R La Mondiale) 2
19, Mirko Selvaggi (Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team) 2
20, Michal Kwiatkowski (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) 1
21, Christopher Horner (RadioShack Leopard) 1
22, Stijn Devolder (RadioShack Leopard) 1
23, Daryl Impey (Orica-GreenEdge) 1
24, Stefano Garzelli (Vini Fantini-Selle Italia) 1
Young riders:
1, Michal Kwiatkowski (Omega Pharma-Quick Step) 27 hours 58 mins 24 secs
2, Arthur Vichot (FDJ) at 15 mins 58 secs
3, Tom Jelte Slagter (Blanco Pro Cycling Team) at 16 mins 10 secs
4, Peter Sagan (Cannondale Pro Cycling) at 19 mins 25 secs
5, Tom Dumoulin (Team Argos-Shimano) at 20 mins 7 secs
6, Moreno Moser (Cannondale Pro Cycling) at 23 mins 22 secs
7, Alex Dowsett (Movistar Team) at 39 mins 53 secs
8, Adriano Malori (Lampre-Merida) at 40 mins 17 secs
9, Miguel Minguez Ayala (Euskaltel-Euskadi) at 41 mins 6 secs
10, Salvatore Puccio (Sky Procycling) at 42 mins 58 secs
11, Rohan Dennis (Garmin-Sharp) at 45 mins 39 secs
12, Davide Cimolai (Lampre-Merida) at 52 mins 12 secs
13, Klaas Lodewyck (BMC Racing Team) at 59 mins 6 secs
14, Davide Appollonio (AG2R La Mondiale) at 1 hour 6 mins 55 secs
15, Garikoitz Bravo Oiarbide (Euskaltel-Euskadi) at 1 hour 1 mins 24 secs
16, Arnaud Demare (FDJ) at 1 hour 8 mins 31 secs