Stage 6
Bouhanni wins the reduced sprint
- Thursday 30 August 2018
- 156 km
- 1,398 m climbed
- Won by Nacer Bouhanni
The road
At the start
Molard in red, and wind on the coast
The breakaway went all the way to Roquetas de Mar and carried the race lead off with it: Rudy Molard is in red, 41 seconds up on Michał Kwiatkowski, with Simon Yates fourth at 51. Today is short and flat — 156 kilometres along the Murcian coast to San Javier — and the only thing that can complicate it is the wind, which on these roads is usually enough.
How it was won
- 25 km to go
Chaos at La Unión
A high-speed peloton meets a set of poorly-marked traffic bollards on a sharp corner in La Unión; riders scatter and the bunch is caught on the back foot in the crosswinds.
- 19 km to go
Pinot and Kelderman lose the race
Kelderman punctures with 19km to go and the echelons never let him back; he and Pinot both concede a costly 1:45 to their rivals.
- At the line
Bouhanni wins the reduced sprint
From a splintered bunch, Nacer Bouhanni takes a redemptive win in San Javier after a troubled season.
The result
| Rank | Rider | Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nacer Bouhanni | Cofidis, Solutions Crédits | 3:58:35 |
| 2 | Danny van Poppel | Team LottoNL-Jumbo | +0:00 |
| 3 | Elia Viviani | Quick-Step Floors | +0:00 |
The route on real terrain, every moment pinned to the kilometre it happened on — and the GPX to ride it yourself.