Hushovd powers to stage victory

Norwegian Thor Hushovd took the honours on the sixth stage of the Vuelta a Espana yesterday after pipping a whole host of riders in a massed sprint finish in Murcia.

The 32-year-old, who has claimed stage wins in the Tour de France, Vuelta and Giro d’Italia, finished the 151-kilometre race from Caravaca de la Cruz to Murcia in a time of three hours 36 minutes and 20 seconds.

Second place went to Italian Daniele Bennati of Liquigas, with Slovenian Grega Bole of Lampre third. Sixth place was claimed by Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma-Lotto), who retains the leader’s red jersey and his 10-second advantage over Igor Anton (Euskaltel-Euskadi) at the top of the overall standings. Ireland’s Nicholas Roche of Ag2R-La Mondiale is 11th, 58 seconds behind Gilbert. Today’s seventh stage is the 187.1km ride from Murcia to Orihuela.