In a thrilling sprint finish, Pelayo Sanchez triumphed over Julian Alaphilippe to clinch his inaugural Grand Tour stage win on stage six of the Giro d’Italia.
The 24-year-old Spaniard, visibly astonished, crossed the finish line ahead of the two-time world champion Alaphilippe in Rapolano Terme.
Luke Plapp of Jayco Alula, the third member of the breakaway, secured the final spot on the podium after a slight fade near the finish line.
Maintaining his dominance, two-time Tour de France champion Tadej Pogacar extended his lead in the overall standings for the sixth consecutive day, holding a 46-second advantage over Britain’s Geraint Thomas.
Reflecting on his victory, Sanchez highlighted the challenges of the stage, which traversed the white gravel roads of Tuscany reminiscent of the Strade Bianchi race.
“This is amazing. I don’t have words,” Sanchez expressed. “I knew that it was going to be a really hard day, all day full gas. I tried to save energy and wait for my moment. After two hours of racing everyone started attacking, so I made my move.”
Stage seven on Friday will feature a 38.5km individual time trial from Foligno to Perugia, culminating with a 6.6km climb at the conclusion.
Stage Six Result:
| Position | Rider | Time |
| 1 | Pelayo Sanchez (Spa/Movistar) | 4:01:08 |
| 2 | Julian Alaphilippe (Fra/Soudal-QuickStep) | Same time |
| 3 | Luke Plapp (Aus/Jayco AlUla) | +1sec |
| 4 | Andrea Piccolo (Ita/EF Education-EasyPost) | +24secs |
| 5 | Jhonatan Narvaez (Ecu/Ineos Grenadiers) | +29secs |
| 6 | Luka Mezgec (Slo/Jayco AlUla) | Same time |
| 7 | Quinten Hermans (Bel/Alpecin-Deceuninck) | |
| 8 | Nick Schultz (Aut/Israel-PremierTech) | |
| 9 | Daniel Martinez (Col/Bora-hansgrohe) | |
| 10 | Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz/Astana Qazaqstan) |
General Classification:
| Position | Rider | Time |
| 1 | Tadej Pogacar (Slo/UAE Team Emirates) | 23:20:52 |
| 2 | Geraint Thomas (GB/Ineos Grenadiers) | +46secs |
| 3 | Daniel Martinez (Col/Bora-hansgrohe) | +47secs |
| 4 | Cian Uijtdebroeks (Bel/Team Visma-Lease a Bike) | +55secs |
| 5 | Einer Rubio (Col/Movistar) | +56secs |
| 6 | Lorenzo Fortunato (Ita/Astana Qazaqstan) | +1:07 |
| 7 | Juan Pedro Lopez (Spa/Lidl-Trek) | +1:11 |
| 8 | Jan Hirt (Cze/Soudal-Quick-Step) | +1:13 |
| 9 | Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz/Astana Qazaqstan) | +1:26 |
| 10 | Esteban Chaves (Col/EF Education-Easypost) | Same time |
