The presence of stage three winner Pablo Lastras (Movistar) in the stage six winning move turned out to be a good thing for Vuelta a Espana leader Sylvain Chavanel. Lastras was the only non-Liquigas-Cannondale rider in the five-man move but, since he was likely to beat the Italian team’s defending champion Vincenzo Nibali in a sprint, Peter Sagan had to sprint for the victory to ensure that the team took the stage.
With Lastras taking second place, and Valerio Agnoli beating Nibali to the line just behind him, Nibali missed out on the bonus seconds. The Sicilian closed the gap to Chavanel by the 17 seconds that he had on the road, but no more; meaning that the French champion still leads Nibali by 16 seconds.
“Today’s stage was also a super fast one,” said Chavanel after the stage. “After 30 kilometres I ended up in a break with 24 riders, due to continuous attacks. On the Alto del Catorce por ciento I tried to stay alert and in the first positions in the peloton. I knew that the descent could have created some gaps so I kept to the front. However the guys from Liquigas really pulled a number on the descent and I lost a few seconds.”
While Nibali closed the gap a little, Chavanel is now just a little more comfortable in his lead over second place Daniel Moreno (Katusha). The winner of stage four, along with team captain and stage five winner Joaquim Rodriguez, lost six seconds to the group containing Chavanel, and the Frenchman’s lead is now up to 15 seconds.
“Overall it was a good day,” he said. “Tomorrow, if there are no surprises, I should be able to hang on to the jersey in an finish suited to the sprinters. I only hope it’s not as hot as it was today and that for at least one day we can all catch our breath.
“From the very first day here at the Vuelta it’s been a battle.”