Impey denies Valverde hat-trick in Catalunya as Froome fades

Daryl Impey (Orica-Scott) won the sixth stage of the Volta a Catalunya as Chris Froome fell out of contention after being trapped on the wrong side of a peloton split.

Alessandro De Marchi (BMC) and Dario Cataldo (Astana) looked set to contest a two-man sprint after jumping away from the leading group 15km from the end but they were reined in within 50 meters of the line as Orica Scott’s Impey surged ahead.

Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) took second place ahead of French champion Arthur Vichot (FDJ) to extend his overall lead while Froome, who started the day in second place, lost more than 20 minutes.

The Tour de France champion was far back in the pack with all his team mates when it split in a descent and the whole Team Sky lost contact with the leading group. They gradually lost ground, then hope, as the gap increased rapidly.

Valverde now leads Alberto Contador (Trek Segafredo) by 53 seconds and his Movistar team mate Marc Soler by one minute six seconds.

Sunday’s seventh and final stage will take the peloton over 138.7km around Barcelona.

#VoltaCatalunya ¡Por qué poco! Daryl Impey (ORS) se lleva la 6ª etapa en Reus por delante de @alejanvalverde. ¡La fuga, cazada en meta! pic.twitter.com/5oilNu6kjQ

— Movistar Team (@Movistar_Team) 25 martie 2017

Volta a Catalunya 2017 – stage 6 results (Tortosa – Reus):

General classification after stage 6: