Velochimp: Astrochimp on Cycling

Paolo Bettini found his winning ways ahead of Phillipe Gilbert, Alejandro valverde and Oscar Friere in a tough sprint during the Vuelta’s Stage 6 into Toledo. The final kilometers included an attack by the unlucky Damiano Cunego who suffered through crashes two days ago that left him a few minutes behind in GC. Bettini’s win comes after a few unsuccessful attempts in the past few stages. His attacks were to make up for being bogged down by team tactics during the Olympic Games where he had to defend the breakaway that contained teammate and Silver medalist Davide Rebellin.

Meanwhile, Sylvain Chavanal took over the Golden Fleece of leadership with the help of time bonuses. Astana did not seem as interested in contesting the sprints to keep the lead in the GC since they have long term ambitions with Alberto Contador or even Leipheimer.