Following yesterday's cancelled stage 5, the sixth stage saw the Dutchman win a sprint from a small group that included Sagan (TNK), Michal Kwiatkowski (SKY) and race leader Zdenek Stybar (EQS).
The group broke away on the penultimate lap of the finishing circuit, when Tinkoff's Daniele Bennati and Oscar Gatto led Sagan out for the intermediate sprint, and didn't look back, eventually being joined by Avermaet, Stybar and Kwiatkowski, along with Stybar's Etixx-QuickStep teammates Fernando Gaviria and Matteo Trentin.
The break built up a lead of 35 seconds before Orica-GreenEDGE, Movistar and Trek put their foot down in an effort to close the gap. The peloton managed to bring the difference down to 7 seconds but were ultimately unable to catch the lead group.
As the break passed under the flamme rouge, Kwiatkowski upped the pace, with only Sagan and van Avermaet able to stay in touch, and it was van Avermaet who proved the freshest in the sprint, taking the stage win and, with it, the blue jersey and a 7 second lead over Stybar.
tirrenoadriatico.it
Now only tomorrow's 10km time trial remains, but with just eight seconds separating the top 3, and some high quality time triallers still in contention, van Avermaet's lead, and even place on the podium, are far from secure.
1. Greg van Avermaet (BMC) 4:34:14
2. Peter Sagan (TNK) + :00
3. Michal Kwiatkowski (SKY) + :02
General Classification
1. Greg van Avermaet (BMC) 20:30:43
2. Zdenek Stybar (EQS) + :07
3. Peter Sagan (TNK) + :08
4. Bob Jungels (EQS) + :21
5. Gianluca Brambilla (EQS) + :21
6. Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) + :28
7. Sebastian Reichenbach (FDL) + :28
8. Roman Kreuziger (TNK) + :30
9. Michal Kwiatkowski (SKY) + :31
10. Vincenzo Nibali (AST) + :34
Climber Classification
1. Cesare Benedetti (BOA) 11
2. Federico Zurlo (LAM) 10
3. Valerio Conti (LAM) 8
Points Classification
1. Peter Sagan (TNK) 36
2. Greg van Avermaet (BMC) 22
3. Zdenek Stybar (EQS) 20
Stage winner Greg van Avermaet (BMC):Stage results
“I knew I could win such a sprint slightly uphill. It was a stage similar to the one I won last year: I was aiming for winning a second stage win at this race so I wanted to go for this one. The parcours of Tirreno-Adriatico is always very nice. It’s a preparation for the classics but also winning here is a confidence booster.
"We’ll see how far I can go tomorrow. This is my only chance to win this race I’ve always liked. I hope to take this nice trophy home”
1. Greg van Avermaet (BMC) 4:34:14
2. Peter Sagan (TNK) + :00
3. Michal Kwiatkowski (SKY) + :02
General Classification
1. Greg van Avermaet (BMC) 20:30:43
2. Zdenek Stybar (EQS) + :07
3. Peter Sagan (TNK) + :08
4. Bob Jungels (EQS) + :21
5. Gianluca Brambilla (EQS) + :21
6. Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) + :28
7. Sebastian Reichenbach (FDL) + :28
8. Roman Kreuziger (TNK) + :30
9. Michal Kwiatkowski (SKY) + :31
10. Vincenzo Nibali (AST) + :34
Climber Classification
1. Cesare Benedetti (BOA) 11
2. Federico Zurlo (LAM) 10
3. Valerio Conti (LAM) 8
Points Classification
1. Peter Sagan (TNK) 36
2. Greg van Avermaet (BMC) 22
3. Zdenek Stybar (EQS) 20
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