Stage 6

The road

At the start

Úbeda to Córdoba, for the fast men

Rodriguez won the wall and Chavanel kept red; Moreno is nine seconds down, Rodriguez 23, Nibali 33. Today should belong to the sprinters, who know how few chances are left in this race. But the Alto del Catorce por Ciento sits twenty-two kilometres from the line with a twisting descent behind it, and the riders will have seen the finish once already before they climb it.

How it was won

1. 1121 km to go

   Fifty kilometres an hour, then four go

   The first hour averages over 50 km/h with nothing allowed to stick. It takes until seventy kilometres for Saramotins, Palomares, Kohler and Doi to be let go, and then they are handed eight minutes.

2. 230 km to go

   Kohler ends it himself

   Thirty kilometres out, Kohler attacks his own breakaway to take the intermediate sprint in Córdoba. It splits the four and finishes them; he is the last to be caught, at the foot of the final climb.

3. 322 km to go

   Moncoutié over the top

   Moncoutié breaks Leopard Trek's grip on the front chasing mountain points and crests first, with Tony Martin, De la Fuente and Seeldraeyers coming across. Behind them the race blows apart.

4. 413 km to go

   Liquigas fly the descent

   The twisting drop into Córdoba turns into a team pursuit. Nibali, Sagan, Agnoli and Capecchi hit the front together and are simply gone, with Lastras hanging on for the ride; Chavanel and Rodriguez hesitate for a heartbeat and lose the day.

5. 5At the line

   Córdoba

   Four Liquigas riders and Lastras contest it, and Sagan wins the sprint — which saves the team from being beaten by the one outsider in the move, and simultaneously takes the twenty bonus seconds out of his own leader's hands. Nibali is furious, and third overall.

The result