Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) has won the sixth stage of the 2012 Vuelta a Espana.
The red jersey extended his lead over Britain’s Chris Froome (Team Sky) and Alberto Contador (Saxo-Bank-Tinkoff Bank) by sprinting clear in to Jaca.
Froome finished second after being passed by Rodriguez on the run to the finish line, while former race leader and winner of stage four, Alejandro Valverde was third.
Contador, who with Froome, started the race as favourite, finished fourth, but retained third place overall, albeit at an increased margin which now stands at 36 seconds.
It was another stage on which the four main contenders went wheel-to-wheel, with Froome the first to blink, leading out the sprint 500 metres from the finish.
But Rodriguez responded with a display of strength similar to that shown in the Giro d’Italia where he repeatedly attacked eventual winner Ryder Hesjedal.
He said a reccee of the course by teammate Ángel Vicioso had helped him prepare and he slipstreamed Froome until 200 metres from the finish line.
“Then I was able to pass him and win at the final rush,” said Rodriguez.
He added: “I’m very happy about this performance: I feel in a very good shape, and the fact that my team is more or less the same as in ‘Giro d’Italia’ makes me feel confident about my chances.
“Moreover, there’s Denis Menchov which gives me a great help with his experience. My rivals are very good: especially Froome proved to be strong after a great ‘Tour de France’. But I feel very well and I want to keep this red jersey.”
Froome is now 10 seconds back on the Spaniard, but finsihed another strong performance from the British team.
The Columbian pairing of Rigoberto Uran and Sergio Henao helped pace the Kenyan-born Brit before Froome showed his right to lead the team on merit by dueling with the three accomplished Spaniards in the fight for the stage victory.
Team Sky’s directeur sportif, Nicolas Portal, described the performance as “the perfect day” for the team.
“It’s been a tough first week but we are in a really good position and I’m really happy with how the team have performed,” he said.
Tomorrow’s 164.2km stage will take the riders over a flat parcours from Huesca to Alcañiz.
Vuelta a Espana stage six – result
1) Joaquim Rodriguez (SPA) – Katusha – 4.35.22
2) Christopher Froome (GBR) – Team Sky +5”
3) Alejandro Valverde (SPA) – Movistar +10”
4) Alberto Contador (SPA) – Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank +19”
5) Eros Capecchi (ITA) – Liquigas-Cannondale
6) Rigoberto Uran (COL) – Team Sky
7) Rinaldo Nocentini (ITA) – AG2R-La Mondiale +25”
8) Mauro Santambrogio (ITA) – BMC Racing +28”
9) Nicolas Roche (IRL) – AG2R-La Mondiale
10) Robert Gesink (NED) – Rabobank +33”
General classification
1) Joaquim Rodriguez (SPA) – Katusha – 22.04.32
2) Chris Froome (GBR) – Team Sky +10”
3) Alberto Contador (SPA) – Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank +36”
4) Rigoberto Uran (COL) – Team Sky +42”
5) Robert Gesink (NED) – Rabobank +54”
6) Alejandro Valverde (SPA) – Movistar
7) Nicolas Roche (IRL) – AG2R-La Mondiale +1.04
8) Bauke Mollema (NED) – Rabobank +1.12
9) Daniel Moreno (SPA) – Katusha +1.17
10) Juan Jose Cobo (SPA) – Movistar
