Dauphiné Libéré Stage 6: Federigo wins for France

Today's mountain stage at the 2009  Daupiné Libéré from Gap - Briançon went to a Frenchman, Pierrick Fedrigo of Bbox-Bouygues Telecom, but a Spaniard, Alejandro Valverde still has the overall race lead.

Fedrigo got in the early stage breakaway and won a sprint for the line over the Belgian Jurgen Van de Walle (Quick Step) – the leaders were content to let them go and spent the stage marking each other's every move – of which there were very few. Valverde (Caisse d'Epargne), Evans (Silence Lotto) and Contador (Astana) who filled the first three places on the general classification finished in all together 4:12 down on Federigo.

Valverde remains in the lead going in to stage 7 which includes the climbs of the Galibier and the Croix de Fer and now looks odds on to beat the letter allegedly on its way from the Italian Cycling Federation to UCI headquarters detailing the reasons for the two year ban imposed on him racing in Italy which the UCI has threatened to turn in to a world wide ban.

Top 10 Dauphiné Libéré Stage 6

1) Pierrick Fédrigo (BBox Bouygues Telecom)                 2.48.17 (38.685 km/h)
2) Jürgen Van De Walle (Bel) Quick Step                        0.04
3) Stephane Goubert (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale                     0.05
4) Juan Manuel Garate Cepa (Spa) Rabobank                      0.14
5) Lars Ytting Bak (Den) Team Saxo Bank                        0.25
6) Aliaksandr Kuschynski (Blr) Liquigas                        2.47
7) Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) Lampre - N.G.C
8) Bingen Fernandez Bustinza (Spa) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne 2.50
9) Mikel Astarloza Charreau (Spa) Euskaltel - Euskadi          3.17
10)Alberto Fernandez De La Puebla (Spa) Fuji-Servetto          3.41

Top 10 After Stage 6

1) Alejandro Valverde Belmonte (Caisse d'Epargne)          18.15.46
2) Cadel Evans (Silence - Lotto)                               0.16
3) Alberto Contador Velasco (Astana)                           1.04
4) Mikel Astarloza Charreau (Euskaltel - Euskadi)              1.49
5) David Millar (Garmin - Slipstream)                          1.52
6) Robert Gesink (Rabobank)                                    2.41
7 )Haimar Zubeldia Agirre (Astana)                             2.42
8) Vicenzo Nibali (Liquigas)                                   2.43
9) Sylvester Szmyd (Liquigas)                                  3.50
10) Jacob Fuglsang (Team Saxo Bank)                            3.56