Tony Gallopin Wins Paris-Nice Stage Six

Last updated : 14 March 2015 By Covsupport News Service

Tony Gallopin of Lotto Soudal has won Stage Six of the Paris-Nice race in France.

Stage six saw a 180.5km stage from Vence to Nice and Michal Kwaitkowski of Etixx Quick Step was nursing a one second lead from Richie Porte of Team Sky going into a stage which could decide the winner of this race.

Again Thomas de Gendt was on the attack but he was soon joined by Jungels, Chernetski, Boom, Erviti, Clarke, Haussler, Van Baarle, Barguil, Dennis, Steegmans, Cimolai, Beschel and Paulinho.

That group became a group of twenty nine and then twenty four comprising of Wellens, Edet, Slagter, Quintana, Jungels, Kruijswijk, Bakelants, Adam Yates, Sicard, Chernetski, Taaramae, Bennett, Boom, Erviti, De Gendt, J Izaquirre, Clarke, Van Baarle, Barguil, Dennis, Bauer, Andersen, Breschel and Paulinho.

The group dropped to twenty three but was back to twenty when Thomas de Gendt took the ten points for the first climb of the day.

After fifty kilometres, the group had extended yet again, this time to thirty one riders who had a lead of 2.10 over the peloton.

Kruijswijk and Taaramae attacked from this front group taking a thirty second lead but were caught and with 91kms left of the stage, their lead was at the 2.50 mark.

Warren Barguil abandoned before the front group split to a group of fifteen riders which included De Gendt who took the second climb of the day and the seven points to give him the King Of The Mountains jersey.

De Gendt having achieved his aim, did not bother to contest the third climb - the  Côte de Châteauneuf or the climbs of the Côte de Coaraze and the Col Saint Roch.

Ahead of the peloton, race leader Michael Kwiatkowski had formed a group and they started to bring back the escapers, whilst the group containing Richie Porte was now thirty seconds back down the road.

On to the final climb of the day - the  Cote de Peille and Tony Gallopin of Lotto Soudal, went away.

Richie Porte caught up to Kwiatkowski's group but Gallopin was off and he won in 4.52.37, thirty two seconds ahead of Katusha's Simon Spillak who put in a late spurt to beat Rui Costa of Lampre Merida and Jakob Fuglsang of Astana, followed by Valls, Valgren, Wellens and Chavanel +1:00

Richie Porte and Geraint Thomas both crashed but were quickly back on their bikes and Porte finished 12th with Thomas one place behind him, a minute behind Gallopin who had a lead home a field of only 106 finishers.

Going into the final stage, Tony Gallopin leads the race by thirty six seconds from Richie Porte, 37 seconds from Kwiatskowski and 38 seconds from Geraint Thomas.