Tirreno-Adriatico 2014: Stage 6

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January 1 - March 18, Bucchianico, Italy, Road - WorldTour

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Live coverage of stage 6 of Tirreno-Adriatico, 189 kilometres from Bucchianico to Porto Sant'Elpidio.

85km remaining from 189km

The four leaders once the flag was dropped this morning, shortly after leaving Bucchianico, a hilltop town near Chieti. Indeed, the first climb of the day was in Chieti itself, after just 6 kilometres, and Kennaugh led over the summit.

85km remaining from 189km

The four leaders went clear once the flag was dropped this morning, shortly after leaving Bucchianico, a hilltop town near Chieti. Indeed, the first climb of the day was in Chieti itself, after just 6 kilometres, and Kennaugh led over the summit.

Vincent Jerome (Europcar) was initially part of the early break, but the Frenchman was distanced on that first climb of the day, which was precisely where Benedetti managed to bridge across.

The Tinkoff-Saxo team of race leader Alberto Contador was controlling affairs at the head of the peloton, but understandably happy to give the break its head, given that the highest man on the overall standings, Steve Morabito, is almost 20 minutes off Alberto Contador's blue jersey.

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Chris Horner, who was lying in 11th overall, is a non-starter today. His Lampre-Merida team issued a statement this morning saying that he is suffering from tendinitis in his left Achilles tendon and that the team was "going to evaluate the best path to recovery." Horner's 2013 campaign was blighted by a knee injury and he didn't race from March until August, though the 42-year-old returned, of course, in time to land a very surprising Vuelta a Espana victory indeed.

There were two other non-starters on today's stage: Jens Mouris (Orica-GreenEdge) and Jesse Sergent (Trek Factory). Sergent is reported to be suffering from an infected ingrown toe nail.

Alberto Contador wears the blue jersey of race leader this afternoon, and with a lead of 2:08 over Nairo Quintana, it's hard to imagine that the Spaniard will relinquish his lead between now and the finish in San Benedetto del Tronto tomorrow afternoon. The overall standings looked like this as the peloton rolled out this morning:

The name Porto Sant’Elpidio will resonate with anyone who raced Tirreno-Adriatico last year, but mercifully for the peloton, this afternoon RCS has opted not to send them up the 27% “wall” which wreaked such havoc in the finale in 2013. Sant’Elpidio a Mare is the only categorised climb in the finale, with a more manageable maximum slope of 9% and an average gradient of 5.6% over its 2.7 kilometres.

Twelve months ago, Vincenzo Nibali availed of the muro in the finale of this stage to divest Chris Froome of the blue jersey on a day that saw Peter Sagan claim stage victory in the rain. In 2014, the muro came a day earlier, at Guardiagrele, and by the time Alberto Contador reached it, he had already put a down payment on overall victory by attacking on the Passo Lanciano.

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The Cannondale team of Peter Sagan are winding up the pace on the front end of the peloton and a number of sprinters are suffering towards the back of the bunch, including Sam Bennett (NetApp-Endura). There are reports reaching us, too, that Marcel Kittel (Giant-Shimano) was struggling off the back, hence Cannondale's forcing on this incline.

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The Kittel group has picked up a few stragglers, but with no added impetus. The German is now 1:20 down on the Cannondale-led bunch.

Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) and Andre Greipel (Lotto-Belisol) are still in the main peloton, incidentally, but Cannondale and Sagan will be hoping that some of the venom has been drawn from their legs by the relentless pace-setting on the climb.

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Jack Bauer has been impressive in this breakaway, and he continues to battle gamely in spite of the Cannondale pursuit behind.

Adam Hansen (Lotto-Belisol), who spent much of yesterday off the front, has now been sent to the front to help out with the pace-making in support his leader Andre Greipel. It seems all but impossible for Kittel to regain contact at this point.

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Lotto-Belisol lead the bunch through the finish line 41 seconds down on the escapees. Sagan's Cannondale guard are still on duty too, and there are also some Omega Pharma-QuickStep jerseys beginning to move up in support of Mark Cavendish.

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Cannondale have taken up the reins at the head of the peloton again. The Kittel group, meanwhile, is continuing to pick up bodies, and has managed to peg its deficit back to 45 seconds or so.

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NetApp's Sam Bennett, meanwhile, appears to be back in the Marcel Kittel group, which is a shade over 40 seconds off the bunch.

Mark Cavendish and Andre Greipel are resolutely part of the main peloton, and their Omega Pharma-QuickStep and Lotto-Belisol teams are both contributing at the front.

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With impeccable timing, host broadcaster RAI has lost live pictures from the race, and as Marcel Kittel gamely tries to battle back on to the main peloton, we are instead being treated to pictures of a dog awaiting the finish in Porto Sant'Elpidio.

Morabito and Bauer have been caught by the bunch, which leads the Kittel group by 23 seconds, while RAI bizarrely show us images of children in a playground near the finish line.

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We've also seen every swing-set and woman in sunglasses in Porto Sant'Elpidio, but precious little of the final lap of the finishing circuit.

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After the confusion, the peloton closes the gap to that small Cavendish group but QuickStep remain in complete control...

Mark Renshaw swings over for Alessandro Petacchi, who winds it up for Cavendish...

And Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma-QuickStep) claims victory by the proverbial street.

Petacchi and Cavendish opened a huge gap on the rest even before Cavendish came off his wheel. Once Cavendish flashed past, Petacchi sat up to celebrate Cavendish's win - and then looked around and started sprinting again to help himself to second place on the stage. Peter Sagan came through for third.

Cavendish and his QuickStep lead-out train haven't always fired this season, but they were mightily impressive this afternoon. They were dominant in the final five kilometres and Cavendish grabs a win that will slash his odds for Milan-San Remo next Sunday, considering that he dealt with the Cannondale forcing on the climbs.

That Lotto crash also effectively eliminated Andre Greipel from contention, along with the already dropped Marcel Kittel. "I never look at what he's doing and what everyone else is doing," Cavendish says of Kittel, before enquiring of Greipel. "It would have been nice to sprint againt Kittel and Greipel."

Result:

The general classification remains unchanged, with Alberto Contador maintaining his healthy lead over Nairo Quintana ahead of tomorrow's short time trial in San Benedetto del Tronto.

Thanks for joining our live coverage of Tirreno-Adriatico this afternoon. We'll be back with more tomorrow from San Benedetto del Tronto, but before then, you can catch a full report, results and pictures from today's stage here, as well as all the news and reaction from Porto Sant'Elpidio.

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