Simon Yates wins Vuelta a Espana stage 6 with a solo attack
Simon Yates (Orica-BikeExchange) claimed the first Grand Tour win of his career by escaping to a solo victory on stage six of the Vuelta a Espana.
The 24-year-old rider attacked out of the peloton with about 4.2km remaining and went on to beat Luis Leon Sanchez (Astana) into second place by 20 seconds.
It was his second win of the season and comes just six weeks after he returned from a four-month suspension for testing positive for the banned asthma drug terbutaline.
All of the contenders for overall victory followed in the main body of the peloton 29 seconds after Yates, meaning Darwin Atapuma (BMC Racing) remains top of the general classification, 28 seconds ahead of second-placed Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) and 32 seconds in front of third-placed Chris Froome (Team Sky).
Yates’ victory salvages what has otherwise been a difficult year and continues a successful summer for his family, after twin brother Adam finished fourth overall at the Tour de France.
Vuelta a Espana 2016 – stage 6 results (Monforte de Lemos – Ribera Sacra):
| 1 | Simon Yates (Orica-BikeExchange) |
4:05:00 |
| 2 | Luis Leon Sanchez (Astana) |
+20” |
| 3 | Fabio Felline (Trek-Segafredo) |
+22” |
| 4 | Ben Hermans (BMC) |
,, |
| 5 | Kenny Elissonde (FDJ) |
,, |
| 6 | Daniel Moreno (Movistar) |
,, |
| 7 | Mathias Frank (IAM) |
,, |
| 8 | Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) |
+29” |
| 9 | Romain Hardy (Cofidis) |
,, |
| 10 | Simon Clarke (Cannondale-Drapac) |
,, |
General classification after stage 6:
| 1 | Darwin Atapuma (BMC) |
21:45:21 |
| 2 | Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) |
+28” |
| 3 | Christopher Froome (Sky) |
+32” |
| 4 | Nairo Quintana (Movistar) |
+38” |
| 5 | Esteban Chaves (Orica-BikeExchange) |
,, |
| 6 | Samuel Sanchez (BMC) |
+01’07” |
| 7 | Leopold Konig (Sky) |
+01’12” |
| 8 | Peter Kennaugh (Sky) |
+01’14” |
| 9 | Gianluca Brambilla (Etixx – Quick-Step) |
+01’22” |
| 10 | Simon Yates (Orica-BikeExchange) |
+01’28” |
