Diaz Closes In On Winning Tour De San Luis

Last updated : 25 January 2015 By Covsupport News Service

Argentinian Dani Diaz of Funvic San Jose is closing in on winning the Tour De San Luis after finishing third behind stage six winner Kleber Da Silva.

Stage six saw the riders take on a 117.5km course from Achiras (Córdoba) to Filo Sierras Comechingones and six riders in Juan Arango (Colombia), Mattia Cattaneo (Lampre), Antoine Duchesne (Europcar), Thomas Danielson Cannondale-Garmin, Pavel Kochetkov of Katusha and Marco Canola of UnitedHealthCare formed a break which quickly got 4.50 clear.

With 65kms to go, the break was down to 3.45 and 2.31 when Arango took the first sprint of the day ahead of Pavel Kochetkov and Thomas Danielson.

Arango took the second sprint and then attacked on his own as a group of nine riders including race leader Dani Diaz, Rodolfo Torres and Movistar's Nairo Quintana charged after him and the remnants of the breakaway.

They joined them and took the lead group up to fourteen riders on the final thirteen kilometre climb up to Filo Sierras which had average gradients of 7.5%.

Diaz attacked but so did his Funvic San Jose team mate Kleber Da Silva and it was Da Silva who won in 3.10.55, two seconds ahead of Rodolfo Torres of the Colombia team.

Diaz finished third six seconds back  to take a minute and five second lead over Torrest and 1.34 over Nairo Quintana into Sunday's final stage which starts and finishes in San Luis and is 122.4kms long.  

Kleber Da Silva said about his win: "I am really proud of my stage victory. "It is a reward for the hard work that I have done during this race."