Paolo Bettini won the last stage before the first rest day on a finale that suited the punchy Italian perfectly. Sylvain Chavanel used two intermediate sprints and his entire Cofidis team to reverse his two-second deficit in the overall against Levi Leipheimer. Chavanel gained a total of 12 seconds and leads Leipheimer by 10 seconds now.
A hill just five kilometres from the finish splintered the peloton. While some fast men, notably Daniele Bennati (Liquigas), were still around, they were voided of their strengths in the hilly run-in. Bettini on the other hand, who likes these kinds of finishes, showed he is in great form ahead of the Worlds in Varese, Italy.
Results
1 Paolo Bettini (Ita) Quick Step
2 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Française des Jeux
3 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne
4 Oscar Freire (Spa) Rabobank
5 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Liquigas
6 Davide Rebellin (Ita) Gerolsteiner
7 Sébastien Hinault (Fra) Crédit Agricole
8 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) Silence-Lotto
9 Karsten Kroon (Ned) CSC-Saxo Bank
10 Matti Breschel (Den) CSC-Saxo Bank
General classification after stage 6
1 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Cofidis
2 Levi Leipheimer (USA) Astana 0.10
3 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Caisse d'Epargne 0.26
4 Alberto Contador (Spa) Astana 0.57
5 Carlos Sastre (Spa) CSC-Saxo Bank
6 Daniele Bennati (Ita) Liquigas
7 Juan Antonio Flecha (Spa) Rabobank
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