Image 1 of 82 Greg Henderson (Lotto-Belisol) got stuck in the big ring and needed a push to get started again (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 2 of 82 Stijn Devolder (Radioshack) walks the climb (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 3 of 82 Niki Terpstra (Omega Pharma-Quickstep) gets help going again (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 4 of 82 The Sant'Elpidio a Mare climb taxed the riders (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 5 of 82 Robbie Hunter (Garmin-Sharp) couldn't stay on the bike (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 6 of 82 Arnaud Demare (FDJ) walked, but Cavendish stayed on the bike (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 7 of 82 The rain made the climb even harder. (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 8 of 82 Jacobus Venter (MTN-Qhubeka) (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 9 of 82 Daniel Schorn (Netapp) hiked his bike up the climb (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 10 of 82 The first time up the Sant'Elpidio a Mare and Peter Sagan does the paperboy (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti) Image 11 of 82 AG2R put two riders in the breakaway: Rinaldo Nocentini and Matteo Montaguti (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti) Image 12 of 82 Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma-Quickstep) not exactly enjoying himself on stage 6 (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti) Image 13 of 82 The 16-man breakaway is driven by AG2R (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti) Image 14 of 82 The Tirreno-Adriatico peloton started in sunshine, but that would change on the final lap (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti) Image 15 of 82 Team Sky pushes the pace in the peloton (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti) Image 16 of 82 Team Sky works for race leader Chris Froome in Tirreno-Adriatico (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti) Image 17 of 82 Manuel Belletti (AG2R) on the climb (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti) Image 18 of 82 Peter Sagan (Cannondale) out sprints his breakaway companions for the win (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 19 of 82 Peter Sagan (Cannondale) on the Sant'Elpidio a Mare (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti) Image 20 of 82 Damiano Cunego (Lampre-Merida) drops his breakaway companions on the climb (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti) Image 21 of 82 Thomas Dekker (Garmin-Sharp) wasn't the only one reduced to walking up the Sant'Elpidio a Mare (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti) Image 22 of 82 Robert Vrecer (Euskaltel) remounts after walking the climb (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti) Image 23 of 82 Robert Vrecer (Euskaltel) runs up the Sant'Elpidio a Mare (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti) Image 24 of 82 On the steepest pitches there were many riders on foot on the climb (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti) Image 25 of 82 Thor Hushovd (BMC) powered up the hill (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti) Image 26 of 82 Alberto Contador and Vincenzo Nibali crest the climb (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti) Image 27 of 82 Stuart O'Grady (Orica-GreenEdge) was in the breakaway (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti) Image 28 of 82 Fabian Cancellara (Radioshack) was in the day's move (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti) Image 29 of 82 Damiano Cunego (Lampre-Merida) on the attack in Tirreno-Adriatico (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti) Image 30 of 82 The day in Tirreno-Adriatico started clear... (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti) Image 31 of 82 Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) enjoys his champagne moment (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti) Image 32 of 82 Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) in the lead of Tirreno-Adriatico with one 9.2km TT left. (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti) Image 33 of 82 Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) on the podium (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti) Image 34 of 82 Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) looks set to repeat his Tirreno-Adriatico overall win (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti) Image 35 of 82 Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) dons the leader's jersey in Tirreno-Adriatico (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti) Image 36 of 82 Peter Sagan (Cannondale) put his name atop the favourites list for Milano-Sanremo with his stage win (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti) Image 37 of 82 Peter Sagan (Cannondale) won stage 6 of Tirreno-Adriatico (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti) Image 38 of 82 Chris Froome (Sky) lost 50 seconds to Nibali on the day (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti) Image 39 of 82 Peter Sagan (Cannondale) (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti) Image 40 of 82 Nibali launches his attack followed by Sagan (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti) Image 41 of 82 Nibali and Sagan push the pace in the finale of stage 6 (Image credit: Fotoreporter Sirotti) Image 42 of 82 Damiano Cunego (Lampre - Merida) (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 43 of 82 Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 44 of 82 Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 45 of 82 Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 46 of 82 Peter Sagan (Cannondale) and Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 47 of 82 Peter Sagan (Cannondale) and Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 48 of 82 Christopher Horner (RadioShack - Leopard) (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 49 of 82 Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 50 of 82 Vincenzo Nibali (Astana (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 51 of 82 Chris Froome (Sky) and Cadel Evans (BMC) (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 52 of 82 Lars Boom (Blanco) (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 53 of 82 The racers on a steep climb (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 54 of 82 The peloton ascends a steep pitch. (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 55 of 82 It was a wet, rainy day (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 56 of 82 Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) gasps for air (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 57 of 82 Mauro Santambrogio (Fantini Vini - Selle Italia) (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 58 of 82 Alberto Contador (Team Saxo - Tinkoff) (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 59 of 82 Alberto Contador (Team Saxo - Tinkoff) (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 60 of 82 Alberto Contador (Team Saxo - Tinkoff) (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 61 of 82 Damiano Cunego (Lampre - Merida) (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 62 of 82 Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 63 of 82 Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 64 of 82 Juan Antonio Flecha (Vacansoleil - DCM) (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 65 of 82 Damiano Cunego (Lampre - Merida) (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 66 of 82 Damiano Cunego (Lampre - Merida) (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 67 of 82 Damiano Cunego (Lampre - Merida) (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 68 of 82 Adriano Malori (Lampre - Merida) (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 69 of 82 Vicenzo Nibali (Astana) is the new race leader at Tirreno-Adriatico (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 70 of 82 Peter Sagan (Cannondale) triumphs at the end of a wet stage 6 (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 71 of 82 Cesare Benedetti (NetApp - Endura) (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 72 of 82 Cesare Benedetti (NetApp - Endura) (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 73 of 82 Chris Froome (Sky) (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 74 of 82 Filippo Pozzato (Lampre - Merida) practices his track stand (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 75 of 82 The racers lined up before the start of stage 6 (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 76 of 82 Alberto Contador (Team Saxo - Tinkoff) (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 77 of 82 Cesare Benedetti (NetApp - Endura) and Alberto Contador (Team Saxo - Tinkoff) (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 78 of 82 Alberto Contador (Team Saxo - Tinkoff) (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 79 of 82 Moreno Moser (Cannondale) (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 80 of 82 Alberto Contador (Team Saxo - Tinkoff) (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 81 of 82 Fabian Cancellara (RadioShack - Nissan) and Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) (Image credit: Bettini Photo) Image 82 of 82 Peter Sagan (Cannondale) wins stage 6 (Image credit: Bettini Photo)

Peter Sagan (Cannondale) won the feared Porto Sant'Elpidio stage of Tirreno-Adriatico, topping a three-man breakaway with GC contenders Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) and Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) on a day in which the rain made a difficult course even more challenging.

The GC was turned topsy turvy, as Nibali took over the race lead. Former race leader Chris Froome of Sky finished about one minute down and dropped to second, at 34 seconds, with Rodriguez third at 37 seconds. Contador fell to fourth, 48 seconds down.

"It was a very hard stage," said Sagan. "When the rain started to fall, the gradients of 30% were hard to get up. I heard Contador say that when he climbed out of the saddle, his back wheel slipped. I rode in the saddle all the time and, in the end, I got away with Vincenzo and stayed away to the finish line."

The day had started out sunny but the heavy rains which had prevailed during so much of the race returned. Combined with the short and vicious climbs of the day, many riders decided to abandon rather than risk injury or illness. The most notable drop-out was Andy Schleck, who left the race in the sunshine less than 50km after the start.

The brutal finale laid bare the strengths and weaknesses of the top names. Sagan, Nibali and Rodriguez showed their good form as the first two were able to jump into the lead, and the Spaniard the only one able to move up to them. Contador could not make the jump and in fact often had trouble holding on to the wheels of his chasing group. Left alone, like most of the other top names, Froome cracked and lost his overall lead.

"The tactic in my head was that, if I was good in the final, I wanted to do something on the last climb," said new race leader Nibali. "I'd looked on the previous passes. I was encouraged when the bad weather came. Other riders suffered in the cold, but I was always OK."

Cadel Evans (BMC) made a surprise appearance in the Froome group, which was the second chasing group which came in 50 seconds down. Even more surprising were Chris Horner (RadioShack) in the Contador group, and BMC's Thor Hushovd in the Froome group.

How it happened

The sun was shining when the riders left Porto Sant'Elpidio but the riders were clearly worried about the 209km in the saddle, the expect rain showers and the numerous short, sharp climbs doted along the stage profile.

The racing started fast with riders keen to get in the break of the day despite five days of tough racing in their legs.

15 riders formed one dangerous move but they were quickly pulled back, and then 16 riders eventually got away after 25km. In the move were Fabian Cancellara (RadioShack-Leopard), Rinaldo Nocentini, Matteo Montaguti (Ag2r-La Mondiale), Lars Boom (Blanco Pro Cycling), Tom Dumoulin (Argos-Shimano) 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-Selle Italia), Matthieu Sprick (Argos-Shimano), and Mirko Selvaggi (Vacansoleil-DCM).

Sergio Henao (Team Sky) was also in the move but he sat up to wait for team leader and race leader Chris Froome. The break opened a three-minute lead, with Team Sky setting a steady tempo at the head of the peloton.

The early climbs began to hurt several riders in the peloton, with Andy Schleck (Radioshack-Leopard) one of the first to throw in the towel and climb off.

The first climb of the Muro di Sant'Elpidio after 70km showed riders the 27% climb they would face twice again later in the stage. And it was a real wall, forcing riders to zigzag to the top to avoid putting their foot down.

Cunego was the first to the top to become leader of the climber's competition, but behind him other riders were suffering, with the arrival of grey skies and rain compounding their pain.

With the stage route passing through the finish twice before the end of the stage, the temptation to climb off was strong. The retirees quickly hit double figures after 90km, with Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma-Quick Step), Filippo Pozzato (Lampre-Merida) amongst the big-names to quit.

Cunego continued to lead the break on the climbs and was first to the top of the Muro di Sant'Elpidio for the second passage. He was forced to sit in the saddle to stop his back wheel from slipping on the wet roads but had the power and low centre of gravity to make it to the top. Dumoulin was a lot bigger but surprisingly made it to the top with Cunego and formed the front group.

Behind them many of the other riders in the break were suffering and their chances of success were over. Cancellara, Nocentini lost contact and were caught by the peloton. However up front, Cunego, Impey, Visconti, Intxausti, Selvaggi, Martinez formed a determined front group, out to fight for the stage victory.

As the raced passed through the finish area for the last time, the break had a lead of 1:55, with Cannondale Pro Cycling, leading the chase.

The last climb of the Muro di Sant'Elpidio would be decisive in deciding the final outcome of the stage.

Dumoulin attacked out of the group again and again before finally cracking on the last climb. The lead group exploded completely as it faced the nearly 30 percent gradient for the third time. Finally a high-powered quartet of Sagan, Nibali, Samuel Sanchez and Inxausti formed in the front, with Nibali clearly focused on taking control.

"On Prati di Tivo, I was on the defensive for most of the day and I only attacked in the final 2km," said Nibali. "Yesterday I wasn't great and I didn't think I'd be able to recoup the seconds I lost. But today it all came good for me. But we new at the start of the race there was a 27% climb coming, so our bikes were set up for it and we were well prepared."

"[Nibali] asked me how I was," said Sagan. "I said I didn't know if I'd be able to stay at the front. In the end we were both still there. Even I wasn't interested in the overall lead, as Vincenzo's friend, I still took turns at the front. And I was very happy to see him in the move today."

Contador made the pace in the chasing group as all struggled on the difficult course. Froome had fallen back, but was still in play as Nibali and Sagan took off in front.

Joaquim Rodriguez was the first to struggle his way up to the two leaders. Behind them, the top names were scattered in little groups all over the road, with Froome looking to have been dropped with 10 km to go. Even Contador had trouble staying up with his small group.

With 6km to go, Froome was in a distant chase group, just over one minute back. The Contador group was at 25-30 seconds behind the leading trio.

The final run-in was flat, but no one was able to catch up to the three in front. Rodriguez led under the flamme rouge, and the other two were happy to let him stay in the lead as long as possible. Sagan opened the sprint with 300 m to go and easily took the win, with Nibali second and Rodriguez third.

Behind them, the Contador group crossed the finish line about 40 seconds later, with the Froome group at about 50 seconds. But the damage had already been done.

Already looking ahead to the weekend's Milan-Sanremo, Sagan said, "Every year I'm the favourite, but I still haven't won it. Everyone can be beaten. Cycling is beautiful because you need to think on the spot. One mistake can cost you the race. We'll see on Sunday."

Full Results

# Rider Name (Country) Team Result 1 Peter Sagan (Svk) Cannondale Pro Cycling 5:45:17 2 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:00:02 3 Joaquim Rodriguez Oliver (Spa) Katusha 4 Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 0:00:44 5 Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 6 Christopher Horner (USA) RadioShack Leopard 7 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 8 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Lotto Belisol 0:00:50 9 Thor Hushovd (Nor) BMC Racing Team 10 Simon Geschke (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano 11 Daniele Pietropolli (Ita) Lampre-Merida 12 Andrey Amador Bakkazakova (CRc) Movistar Team 13 Wouter Poels (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 14 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team 15 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 16 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Omega Pharma-Quick Step 17 Przemyslaw Niemiec (Pol) Lampre-Merida 18 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 19 Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling 20 Matteo Rabottini (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 0:01:55 21 Arthur Vichot (Fra) FDJ 22 Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica-GreenEdge 0:01:56 23 Sergio Luis Henao Montoya (Col) Sky Procycling 24 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 0:02:16 25 Kristijan Koren (Slo) Cannondale Pro Cycling 26 Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Movistar Team 27 José Joao Pimenta Costa Mendes (Por) Team NetApp-Endura 28 Miguel Minguez Ayala (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 29 Jonathan Castroviejo Nicolas (Spa) Movistar Team 30 Mirko Selvaggi (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 31 Francisco José Ventoso Alberdi (Spa) Movistar Team 32 Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Katusha 0:03:06 33 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team 34 Benat Intxausti Elorriaga (Spa) Movistar Team 35 Hayden Roulston (NZl) RadioShack Leopard 0:04:18 36 Damiano Caruso (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling 37 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Merida 38 Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Argos-Shimano 39 Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar Team 40 Daniel Martin (Irl) Garmin-Sharp 41 Paul Voss (Ger) Team NetApp-Endura 0:04:39 42 Gerald Ciolek (Ger) MTN-Qhubeka 43 Matteo Montaguti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 0:06:12 44 Bartosz Huzarski (Pol) Team NetApp-Endura 45 Stijn Devolder (Bel) RadioShack Leopard 46 Alessandro Vanotti (Ita) Astana Pro Team 47 Tom Jelte Slagter (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team 48 Jorge Azanza Soto (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 49 Egoi Martinez De Esteban (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 50 Tony Martin (Ger) Omega Pharma-Quick Step 0:07:22 51 Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Omega Pharma-Quick Step 52 Mauro Finetto (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 53 Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Spa) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:07:45 54 Jan Barta (Cze) Team NetApp-Endura 0:09:57 55 Rohan Dennis (Aus) Garmin-Sharp 56 Angel Vicioso Arcos (Spa) Katusha 57 Adriano Malori (Ita) Lampre-Merida 58 Matthieu Sprick (Fra) Team Argos-Shimano 59 Sandy Casar (Fra) FDJ 60 Rigoberto Uran Uran (Col) Sky Procycling 61 Alex Dowsett (GBr) Movistar Team 62 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin-Sharp 63 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) RadioShack Leopard 0:13:32 64 Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling 65 Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Cannondale Pro Cycling 66 Alan Marangoni (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling 67 Moreno Moser (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling 68 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) RadioShack Leopard 69 Davide Cimolai (Ita) Lampre-Merida 70 Michael Schär (Swi) BMC Racing Team 0:15:11 71 Cédric Pineau (Fra) FDJ 0:15:45 72 Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ 73 Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano 74 Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 0:18:42 75 Manuel Quinziato (Ita) BMC Racing Team 76 Sergio Miguel Moreira Paulinho (Por) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 77 Dario Cataldo (Ita) Sky Procycling 78 Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Belisol 79 Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 80 Lars Boom (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team 81 Lars Petter Nordhaug (Nor) Blanco Pro Cycling Team 82 Maarten Wynants (Bel) Blanco Pro Cycling Team 83 Paul Martens (Ger) Blanco Pro Cycling Team 84 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Astana Pro Team 85 Jesus Hernandez Blazquez (Spa) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 86 Ioannis Tamouridis (Gre) Euskaltel-Euskadi 87 Cesare Benedetti (Ita) Team NetApp-Endura 88 Sergio Pardilla Bellon (Spa) MTN-Qhubeka 89 Davide Appollonio (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 90 Ben Gastauer (Lux) AG2R La Mondiale 91 Manuel Belletti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 92 Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 93 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 94 Salvatore Puccio (Ita) Sky Procycling 95 Roberto Ferrari (Ita) Lampre-Merida 96 Maxim Belkov (Rus) Katusha 97 Garikoitz Bravo Oiarbide (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 98 Jacobus Venter (RSA) MTN-Qhubeka 99 Oscar Gatto (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 0:19:56 100 Klaas Lodewyck (Bel) BMC Racing Team 101 Danilo Hondo (Ger) RadioShack Leopard 102 André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Belisol 103 Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) Orica-GreenEdge 104 Aliaksandr Kuchynski (Blr) Katusha 105 Mickael Delage (Fra) FDJ 0:23:02 106 Jens Mouris (Ned) Orica-GreenEdge 107 Martin Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quick Step 108 Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ 109 Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing Team 0:37:37 DNS Dmitriy Gruzdev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team DNS Svein Tuft (Can) Orica-GreenEdge DNF Steve Chainel (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale DNF Laurent Mangel (Fra) FDJ DNF Peter Kennaugh (GBr) Sky Procycling DNF Luca Paolini (Ita) Katusha DNF Mitchell Docker (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge DNF Andy Schleck (Lux) RadioShack Leopard DNF Daniele Bennati (Ita) Team Saxo-Tinkoff DNF Manuele Boaro (Ita) Team Saxo-Tinkoff DNF Valerio Agnoli (Ita) Astana Pro Team DNF Fredrik Carl Wilhelm Kessiakoff (Swe) Astana Pro Team DNF Dmitriy Muravyev (Kaz) Astana Pro Team DNF Paolo Tiralongo (Ita) Astana Pro Team DNF Stephen Cummings (GBr) BMC Racing Team DNF Tiziano Dall'Antonia (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling DNF Ricardo Garcia Ambroa (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi DNF Robert Vrecer (Slo) Euskaltel-Euskadi DNF Murilo Antonio Fischer (Bra) FDJ DNF Thomas Dekker (Ned) Garmin-Sharp DNF Robert Hunter (RSA) Garmin-Sharp DNF Ramunas Navardauskas (Ltu) Garmin-Sharp DNF Sébastien Rosseler (Bel) Garmin-Sharp DNF Vladimir Isaichev (Rus) Katusha DNF Pavel Brutt (Rus) Katusha DNF Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Lampre-Merida DNF Vicente Reynes Mimo (Spa) Lotto Belisol DNF Greg Henderson (NZl) Lotto Belisol DNF Marcel Sieberg (Ger) Lotto Belisol DNF Eros Capecchi (Ita) Movistar Team DNF Kristian Sbaragli (Ita) MTN-Qhubeka DNF Andreas Stauff (Ger) MTN-Qhubeka DNF Jay Robert Thomson (RSA) MTN-Qhubeka DNF Mark Cavendish (GBr) Omega Pharma-Quick Step DNF Guillaume Van Keirsbulck (Bel) Omega Pharma-Quick Step DNF Niki Terpstra (Ned) Omega Pharma-Quick Step DNF Matthew Harley Goss (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge DNF Brett Lancaster (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge DNF Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Orica-GreenEdge DNF Giacomo Nizzolo (Ita) RadioShack Leopard DNF Joseph Lloyd Dombrowski (USA) Sky Procycling DNF Christian Knees (Ger) Sky Procycling DNF Koen De Kort (Ned) Team Argos-Shimano DNF Ramon Sinkeldam (Ned) Team Argos-Shimano DNF Albert Timmer (Ned) Team Argos-Shimano DNF Zakkari Dempster (Aus) Team NetApp-Endura DNF David De La Cruz Melgarejo (Spa) Team NetApp-Endura DNF Daniel Schorn (Aut) Team NetApp-Endura DNF Michael Rogers (Aus) Team Saxo-Tinkoff DNF Tomasz Marczynski (Pol) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team DNF Grega Bole (Slo) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team DNF Boy van Poppel (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team DNF Kevin Hulsmans (Bel) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia DNF Jelle Vanendert (Bel) Lotto Belisol OTL Taylor Phinney (USA) BMC Racing Team

Sprint 1 # Rider Name (Country) Team Result 1 Egoi Martinez De Esteban (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 5 pts 2 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Merida 3 3 Benat Intxausti Elorriaga (Spa) Movistar Team 2 4 Lars Boom (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team 1

Sprint 2 # Rider Name (Country) Team Result 1 Mirko Selvaggi (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 5 pts 2 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Merida 3 3 Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Argos-Shimano 2 4 Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar Team 1

Points # Rider Name (Country) Team Result 1 Peter Sagan (Svk) Cannondale Pro Cycling 12 pts 2 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team 10 3 Joaquim Rodriguez Oliver (Spa) Katusha 8 4 Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 7 5 Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 6 6 Christopher Horner (USA) RadioShack Leopard 5 7 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 4 8 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Lotto Belisol 3 9 Thor Hushovd (Nor) BMC Racing Team 2 10 Simon Geschke (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano 1

Mountain 1 - Sant'Elpidio a Mare, km 72,1 # Rider Name (Country) Team Result 1 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Merida 5 pts 2 Lars Boom (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team 3 3 Paul Voss (Ger) Team NetApp-Endura 2 4 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 1

Mountain 2 - Sant'Elpidio a Mare, km 163,3 # Rider Name (Country) Team Result 1 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Merida 5 pts 2 Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Argos-Shimano 3 3 Mirko Selvaggi (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 2 4 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 1

Mountain 3 - Sant'Elpidio a Mare, km 191,5 # Rider Name (Country) Team Result 1 Benat Intxausti Elorriaga (Spa) Movistar Team 5 pts 2 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team 3 3 Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 2 4 Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica-GreenEdge 1

General classification after stage 6 # Rider Name (Country) Team Result 1 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team 27:57:26 2 Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling 0:00:34 3 Joaquim Rodriguez Oliver (Spa) Katusha 0:00:37 4 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 0:00:48 5 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Omega Pharma-Quick Step 0:00:58 6 Christopher Horner (USA) RadioShack Leopard 0:01:05 7 Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 0:01:20 8 Przemyslaw Niemiec (Pol) Lampre-Merida 0:02:54 9 Andrey Amador Bakkazakova (CRc) Movistar Team 0:02:58 10 Wouter Poels (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:03:08 11 Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 0:03:10 12 Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 0:03:27 13 Sergio Luis Henao Montoya (Col) Sky Procycling 0:03:31 14 Jonathan Castroviejo Nicolas (Spa) Movistar Team 0:04:50 15 Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Katusha 0:04:56 16 Matteo Rabottini (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 0:05:25 17 Juan Jose Cobo Acebo (Spa) Movistar Team 0:05:35 18 Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:05:55 19 Daniel Martin (Irl) Garmin-Sharp 0:06:50 20 Damiano Caruso (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling 0:07:04 21 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team 0:07:16 22 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 0:09:25 23 José Joao Pimenta Costa Mendes (Por) Team NetApp-Endura 0:09:27 24 Paul Voss (Ger) Team NetApp-Endura 0:09:38 25 Rigoberto Uran Uran (Col) Sky Procycling 0:10:38 26 Daniele Pietropolli (Ita) Lampre-Merida 0:16:16 27 Arthur Vichot (Fra) FDJ 0:16:56 28 Tom Jelte Slagter (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team 0:17:08 29 Tony Martin (Ger) Omega Pharma-Quick Step 0:18:15 30 Egoi Martinez De Esteban (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:18:19 31 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Merida 0:19:13 32 Matteo Montaguti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 0:19:30 33 Peter Sagan (Svk) Cannondale Pro Cycling 0:20:23 34 Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Spa) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:21:02 35 Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Argos-Shimano 0:21:05 36 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 0:21:31 37 Sergio Pardilla Bellon (Spa) MTN-Qhubeka 0:21:54 38 Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar Team 0:22:34 39 Simon Geschke (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano 0:24:11 40 Mirko Selvaggi (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:24:15 41 Moreno Moser (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling 0:24:20 42 Sergey Lagutin (Uzb) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 0:24:21 43 Jorge Azanza Soto (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 44 Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Omega Pharma-Quick Step 0:26:09 45 Bartosz Huzarski (Pol) Team NetApp-Endura 0:27:15 46 Dario Cataldo (Ita) Sky Procycling 0:27:23 47 Benat Intxausti Elorriaga (Spa) Movistar Team 0:27:33 48 Michael Schär (Swi) BMC Racing Team 0:28:50 49 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing Team 0:29:17 50 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Astana Pro Team 0:30:43 51 Sandy Casar (Fra) FDJ 0:31:37 52 Angel Vicioso Arcos (Spa) Katusha 0:31:39 53 Jesus Hernandez Blazquez (Spa) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 0:32:07 54 Mauro Finetto (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 0:34:40 55 Kristijan Koren (Slo) Cannondale Pro Cycling 0:35:11 56 Francisco José Ventoso Alberdi (Spa) Movistar Team 0:35:26 57 Stijn Devolder (Bel) RadioShack Leopard 0:35:58 58 Jan Barta (Cze) Team NetApp-Endura 0:36:51 59 Maxim Belkov (Rus) Katusha 0:37:32 60 Cédric Pineau (Fra) FDJ 0:39:38 61 Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ 0:39:57 62 Thor Hushovd (Nor) BMC Racing Team 0:40:08 63 Alex Dowsett (GBr) Movistar Team 0:40:51 64 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Lotto Belisol 0:41:06 65 Yaroslav Popovych (Ukr) RadioShack Leopard 0:41:07 66 Adriano Malori (Ita) Lampre-Merida 0:41:15 67 Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica-GreenEdge 0:41:23 68 Ben Gastauer (Lux) AG2R La Mondiale 0:41:36 69 Alessandro Vanotti (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:42:02 70 Miguel Minguez Ayala (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:42:04 71 Salvatore Puccio (Ita) Sky Procycling 0:43:56 72 Fabian Cancellara (Swi) RadioShack Leopard 0:43:58 73 Hayden Roulston (NZl) RadioShack Leopard 0:44:26 74 Gerald Ciolek (Ger) MTN-Qhubeka 0:44:38 75 Paul Martens (Ger) Blanco Pro Cycling Team 0:45:03 76 Johannes Fröhlinger (Ger) Team Argos-Shimano 0:45:20 77 Rohan Dennis (Aus) Garmin-Sharp 0:46:37 78 Sebastian Langeveld (Ned) Orica-GreenEdge 0:47:17 79 Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 0:48:30 80 Sergio Miguel Moreira Paulinho (Por) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 0:49:18 81 Jacobus Venter (RSA) MTN-Qhubeka 0:51:14 82 Tyler Farrar (USA) Garmin-Sharp 0:52:32 83 Davide Cimolai (Ita) Lampre-Merida 0:53:10 84 Lars Boom (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team 0:53:44 85 Adam Hansen (Aus) Lotto Belisol 0:53:46 86 Oscar Gatto (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 0:54:13 87 Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Cannondale Pro Cycling 0:54:44 88 Aliaksandr Kuchynski (Blr) Katusha 0:55:04 89 Lars Petter Nordhaug (Nor) Blanco Pro Cycling Team 0:55:05 90 Fabio Sabatini (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling 0:55:48 91 Matthieu Sprick (Fra) Team Argos-Shimano 0:56:38 92 Manuel Quinziato (Ita) BMC Racing Team 0:57:01 93 Ioannis Tamouridis (Gre) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:58:44 94 Danilo Hondo (Ger) RadioShack Leopard 0:59:29 95 André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Belisol 0:59:48 96 Mickael Delage (Fra) FDJ 0:59:54 97 Klaas Lodewyck (Bel) BMC Racing Team 1:00:04 98 Alan Marangoni (Ita) Cannondale Pro Cycling 1:00:13 99 Manuel Belletti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 1:00:54 100 Cesare Benedetti (Ita) Team NetApp-Endura 1:03:26 101 Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 1:03:48 102 Roberto Ferrari (Ita) Lampre-Merida 1:05:58 103 Maarten Wynants (Bel) Blanco Pro Cycling Team 1:06:37 104 Davide Appollonio (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 1:07:53 105 Garikoitz Bravo Oiarbide (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 1:08:22 106 Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ 1:09:29 107 Jens Mouris (Ned) Orica-GreenEdge 1:13:57 108 Martin Velits (Svk) Omega Pharma-Quick Step 1:15:38

Points classification # Rider Name (Country) Team Result 1 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 27 pts 2 Peter Sagan (Svk) Cannondale Pro Cycling 26 3 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team 25 4 Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 24 5 Joaquim Rodriguez Oliver (Spa) Katusha 22 6 Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling 20 7 Christopher Horner (USA) RadioShack Leopard 17 8 Gerald Ciolek (Ger) MTN-Qhubeka 15 9 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Omega Pharma-Quick Step 12 10 André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Belisol 12 11 Manuel Belletti (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 12 12 Cesare Benedetti (Ita) Team NetApp-Endura 11 13 Bauke Mollema (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team 10 14 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Merida 9 15 Roberto Ferrari (Ita) Lampre-Merida 7 16 Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 6 17 Rigoberto Uran Uran (Col) Sky Procycling 6 18 Mirko Selvaggi (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 5 19 Stijn Devolder (Bel) RadioShack Leopard 5 20 Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ 5 21 Maciej Bodnar (Pol) Cannondale Pro Cycling 5 22 Thor Hushovd (Nor) BMC Racing Team 5 23 Davide Cimolai (Ita) Lampre-Merida 5 24 Arnaud Demare (Fra) FDJ 5

Mountains classification # Rider Name (Country) Team Result 1 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre-Merida 20 pts 2 Cesare Benedetti (Ita) Team NetApp-Endura 13 3 Garikoitz Bravo Oiarbide (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 10 4 Christopher Froome (GBr) Sky Procycling 9 5 Joaquim Rodriguez Oliver (Spa) Katusha 5 6 Benat Intxausti Elorriaga (Spa) Movistar Team 5 7 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana Pro Team 5 8 Anthony Roux (Fra) FDJ 5 9 Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 3 10 Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Spa) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 3 11 Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Team Argos-Shimano 3 12 Dario Cataldo (Ita) Sky Procycling 3 13 Lars Boom (Ned) Blanco Pro Cycling Team 3 14 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Team Saxo-Tinkoff 2 15 Sergio Luis Henao Montoya (Col) Sky Procycling 2 16 Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 2 17 Paul Voss (Ger) Team NetApp-Endura 2 18 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale 2 19 Mirko Selvaggi (Ita) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team 2 20 Michal Kwiatkowski (Pol) Omega Pharma-Quick Step 1 21 Christopher Horner (USA) RadioShack Leopard 1 22 Stijn Devolder (Bel) RadioShack Leopard 1 23 Daryl Impey (RSA) Orica-GreenEdge 1 24 Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia 1