In his Giro d’Italia debut, Pelayo Sanchez from Movistar claimed victory in the sixth stage following a sprint finish in Rapolano Terme, managing to outpace the previous World Changer, Julian Alaphilippe, who was chasing his first top spot in almost 12 months. The triumph of Sanchez came after a reduced peloton finished 29 seconds later, which kept Tadej Pogacar in possession of the overall leader’s pink jersey, still 46 seconds ahead of Geraint Thomas.
Sanchez, along with Alaphilippe and Luke Plapp, pulled away from the group midway through the Tuscan 180km stage and remained ahead with 4km left to the sharp final climb, despite their lead narrowing to 20 seconds. Avoiding the peloton in the descent into the final stretch, Sanchez overcame Alaphilippe’s last-ditch 150m sprint to secure his career’s most significant victory.
The 24-year-old Sanchez expressed his delight at his unexpected win, admitting that he had mainly been conserving energy for the majority of the Giro as he didn’t feel he had the stamina to stay at the front, never imagining he’d secure a stage win.
Meanwhile, in other cycling news, Mark Cavendish gained his first victory since February in the Tour of Hungary’s second stage. Cavendish, currently preparing to aim for a record-setting 35th stage win in this year’s Tour de France, managed to power past Dylan Groenewegen in Kazincbarcika, despite his season being interrupted by illness in the first half.