La Vuelta 2008 – Stage 6 – Bettini Wins Stage! Chavanel Takes over GC Lead

Stage 6 Results
1 Paolo Bettini (Ita) Quick Step – 3.19.28
2 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Française des Jeux
3 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne
4 Oscar Freire Gomez (Spa) Rabobank
5 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Liquigas
6 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner
7 Sébastien Hinault (Fra) Crédit Agricole
8 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) Silence – Lotto
9 Karsten Kroon (Ned) Team CSC – Saxo Bank
10 Matti Breschel (Den) Team CSC – Saxo Bank

General classification after stage 6
1 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Cofidis – Le Crédit par Téléphone 17.35.35
2 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Astana 0.10
3 Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne 0.26
4 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana 0.57
5 Carlos Sastre Candil (Spa) Team CSC – Saxo Bank 1.37
6 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Liquigas 1.42
7 Jurgen Van Goolen (Bel) Team CSC – Saxo Bank 1.44
8 Juan Antonio Flecha Giannoni (Spa) Rabobank 2.01
9 Dominique Cornu (Bel) Silence – Lotto 2.06
10 Daniel Moreno Fernandez (Spa) Caisse d’Epargne 2.20

Full results here..

Click Here

Links to news sites…

“Cyclist Bettini wins Tour of Spain sixth stage, Chavanel leads

TOLEDO, Spain (AFP) — Italian rider Paolo Bettini of Quick Step won the sixth stage of the Tour of Spain on Thursday, a 150.1 kilometre course from Ciudad Real to Toledo, while France’s Sylvain Chavanel of Cofidis took the overall lead.

Bettini came in ahead of Belgium’s Philippe Gilbert of Francaise des Jeux in while Spain’s Alejandro Valverde of Caisse d’Epargne was third in the sprint.” Read more from The AFP…

“Bettini wins stage 6 of the Vuelta, Leipheimer hands the lead to Chavanel

How happy was Paolo Bettini after ripping across the finish ahead of Philippe Gilbert (FDJeux) victorious in Thursday’s sixth stage at the Vuelta a España?

The two-time reigning world champion pumped both arms in the air, then his fist and before yelling something very Italian that might not be printable, even on the Web.” Read more from VeloNews.com…

“Bettini is back as Chavanel storms into golden jersey
By Bjorn Haake

Paolo Bettini won the last stage before the first rest day on a finale that suited the punchy Italian perfectly. Sylvain Chavanel used two intermediate sprints and his entire Cofidis team to reverse his two-second deficit in the overall against Levi Leipheimer. Chavanel gained a total of 12 seconds and now leads Leipheimer by 10 seconds.

A hill just five kilometres from the finish splintered the peloton. While some fast men, notably Daniele Bennati (Liquigas) and Greg Van Avermaet (Silence-Lotto), were still around, they were voided of their strengths in the hilly run-in. Bettini on the other hand, who likes these kinds of finishes, showed he is in great form ahead of the Worlds in Varese, Italy.” Read more from CyclingNews.com…