Lloyd solos to stage win

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For the second consecutive day at the Giro d'Italia a day-long break was rewarded with a stage win, but unlike yesterday's razor-thin margin of victory earned by Jerome Pineau, today's victor, Matthew Lloyd (Omega Pharma-Lotto), had ample opportunity to savour his first Grand Tour victory.

The 26-year-old Australian arrived at the finish in Marina di Carrara more than one minute ahead of runner-up and former breakaway companion, Rubens Bertogliati (Androni Giocattoli-Diquigiovanni), who was unable to answer Lloyd's winning attack on the category three Bedizzano climb 11 kilometres from the finish. Bertogliati, however, had just enough strength to fend off the charging peloton led in by third-placed Danilo Hondo (Lampre-Farnese Vino) nine seconds later.

Lloyd and Bertogliati launched their attack 45 kilometres into the sixth stage and remained off the front for the remaining undulating 127 kilometres, with Lloyd sweeping up top honours on each of the day's three categorised climbs while Bertogliati picked up the intermediate sprint in Aulla.

Lloyd's victory is the biggest of his career and his first since winning the Australian national road championship in 2008.

"In the last two kilometres today, I didn't see anything," said Lloyd. "I was just looking at the red cars in front of me. Then, with 200 metres to go, I felt something special because the Giro is such an emotional race for me. It’s romantic. This race is more difficult than any other.

"Maybe it’s just the characteristics of today’s stage that made me a winner. It wouldn't have happened if I didn't do that move. Ninety-nine percent of the time this kind of move fails. I realized that my breakaway companion Rubens Bertogliati was creeping in the hills at the end. I'm normally at my ease when it goes uphill. I can't descend, well I can sometimes, but I can climb.

"Like at the national championship I won, Cadel [Evans] was the first person to congratulate me. It means a lot."

The top of the overall classification remained unchanged as race leader Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Doimo) enjoyed a relatively calm day in the peloton. The 25-year-old Italian leads teammates Ivan Basso and Valerio Agnoli by 13 and 20 seconds respectively overall.

For his sweep of the day's three KOMs, Lloyd also took over the mountains classification from Milram's Paul Voss. Lloyd's tally of 13 points puts him three ahead of the German who earned the jersey on stage two in the Netherlands.

A two-man effort worthy of Monsieur Chrono

While yesterday's stage honoured the memory of Italy's legendary Fausto Coppi, today's 172km sixth stage from Fidenza to Marina di Carrara paid tribute to another esteemed champion, Jacques Anquetil, who 50 years ago won a time trial in Carrara en route to becoming the first French victor of the Giro d'Italia. Anquetil, also the first five-time Tour de France champion and the first to win all three Grand Tours, was renowned for his time trialing prowess and today's early break of Rubens Bertogliati (Androni Giocattoli-Diquigiovanni) and Matthew Lloyd (Omega Pharma-Lotto) set out on their own lengthy two-man time trial after 45km of racing.

The Swiss-Australian duo posed no GC threat to maglia rosa wearer Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Doimo), with Lloyd best placed overall at 11:13 behind the Italian. Subsequently, the two escapees steadily distanced the Liquigas-led peloton and held more than a four minute advantage when Lloyd crested the day's first climb, the category two Passo del Brattello at 77.4km.

A nasty crash with 90km to go took out two riders in the peloton: Paolo Tiralongo (Astana) apparently suffered a broken wrist, and AG2R's captain Guillaume Bonnafond had a serious cut near his right eye. Their injuries forced both riders out of the Giro d'Italia, the third and fourth to abandon thus far.

Bertogliati and Lloyd worked smoothly together on the lengthy descent to Aulla, at 50.5km to go, where Bertogliati led Lloyd across the day's intermediate sprint with a near six-minute advantage over the field still led by maglia rosa holder Vincenzo Nibali's Liquigas-Doimo squad.

The two escapees reached the day's second category two climb, the 654m high Spolverina, still sharing the pace-making duties equally and holding a lead of five minutes. While Bertogliati and Lloyd worked their way steadily up the ascent, riders in the peloton launched attacks ultimately resulting in a five-man chase group containing Caye Sarmiento Tunarrosa (Acqua & Sapone), Johann Tschopp (BBox Bouygues Telecom), Matteo Bono (Lampre-Farnese Vini), Evgeni Petrov and Serguei Klimov (Team Katusha).

Bertogliati suffered a rear flat on the climb, but the 31-year-old Swiss made his way back to Lloyd at the head of affairs.

Lloyd again led Bertogliati across a KOM summit, ahead of a chase group reduced to Tunarrosa, Tschopp and Petrov at 2:08. Bono and Klimov were swept up by the peloton which reached the Spolverina summit at 27.4km to go trailing the two leaders by 2:51. Spolverina is the marble capital of Italy, and the riders successfully negotiated the tricky descent made challenging by its coating of marble dust.

Lloyd, a former Australian road champion and an able climber, sensed weakness in Bertogliati and dispatched of his breakaway companion on the day's final ascent, the third category Bedizzano climb at 10.8km to go. Lloyd attacked the Swiss near the day's third KOM line and crossed its summit alone. The 26-year-Australian sped solo down the narrow descent and onto the broad streets of Marina di Carrara, holding a 45-second lead over Bertogliati and 1:21 over a four man chase group of Tunarrosa, Tschopp, Petrov and Dario Cataldo (Quick Step), who joined the chase group on the descent, with five kilometres remaining.

Lloyd never faltered as he powered his way through the final kilometres and down the lengthy finishing straight to take the biggest win of his career. The exhausted Australian had plenty of time to enjoy his victory as Bertogliati finished 1:06 later, a deserving second. The chasers were all absorbed by a speeding peloton led in by Lampre's Danilo Hondo for third place nine seconds later.

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