CIVITANOVA MARCHE, Italy — Fernando Gaviria won the sixth stage of the Tirreno-Adriatico cycling race Monday, and Nairo Quintana retained the overall lead heading into the final leg.
Gaviria, who rides for Quick Step, held off world champion Peter Sagan in a bunch sprint at the end of the 168-kilometer (104-mile) route from Ascoli Piceno to Civitanova Marche to win by half a bike wheel. Jasper Stuyven was third.
"In Stage 3, I crashed and the legs weren't excellent, but now I'm going well," Gaviria said. "The climb before the finish made the race a little Milan-San Remo today. It's always a nice duel with Peter Sagan but also a fight with the other riders."
Quintana remained 50 seconds ahead of Thibaut Pinot, who moved into second, and 1 minute, 6 seconds ahead of Rohan Dennis.
The breakaway was halted for three minutes near the halfway point after the peloton was held up at a train crossing. Tuesday's final stage is a 10-kilometer (6-mile) individual time trial around San Benedetto del Tronto.
On Sunday, Sagan paid tribute to the victims of the recent earthquakes in central Italy after claiming his second stage win in the Tirreno-Adriatico.
The fifth stage of the 'Race of the Two Seas' was held over 210km between Rieti and Fermo on the Adriatic coast.
And during a "crazy" day in which the Slovakian had teammate Rafal Majka to thank for dragging him back into victory contention, Sagan was saddened by the ruins caused by the earthquakes that struck central Italy in the past six months, killing scores of people and leaving thousands homeless for months.
"I'm very happy with my win today," said Sagan, who is using the week-long race to prepare for a victory tilt at the Milan-San Remo one-day classic next weekend. "It was sad to see some post-earthquake ruins today. During the race, my thoughts went to the victims. I feel sorry for them."
Bora team rider Sagan, a powerful one-day rider who can sprint with the best in the bunch, had dominated the field to win Friday's third stage.
And the flamboyant Slovak, known for his garish outfits and performing one-handed 'wheelies' when riding up the climbs of some of Europe's top races, took his second win of the 2017 edition with a defiant, uphill sprint in Fermo that pushed Frenchman Thibaut Pinot into second.
He is now level with retired German star Erik Zabel on seven stage wins from the race, albeit eight behind the leading tally of 15 won by retired Belgian Roger De Vlaeminck.
Had it not been for Majka, Sagan would have watched the podium ceremony from afar. "Rafal Majka killed himself to make me win. I got back on (to the bunch) only at the last kilometer," he added. "If it was a one-day race today, maybe I wouldn't have been up there. The climbers spent a lot of energy yesterday.
"I, on the other hand, took it easy before the Terminillo (climb). So I was a bit fresher than the overall contenders. But it's been a day of changes of rhythm with attacks at the front of the peloton. I'm exhausted."
