Vincenzo Nibali finished fourth at the 141 km long last stage of Tour of Croatia and won the general classification. This is the first GC victory for Nibali in the Bahrain Merida team jersey.
After the start of the stage 6, the peloton had a good tempo and some attempts for the breakaway. Soon after, at the first intermediate sprint in Sveta Nedjelja, Vincenzo Nibali won and took back the leading position in general classification from Jaime Roson Garcia (Caja Rural) by getting 3 bonus points and an advantage of 1 second.
Later on, in Marija Bistrica at the 70th km, the breakaway group of 15 riders made a gap of almost 3 min. After entering Croatia’s capital, Zagreb, the peloton caught the breakaway group and Bahrain Merida riders were fully supporting Vincenzo Nibali, who crossed the finish line in fourth place, which brought him victory in general classification and a big confidence boost before Giro d’Italia that starts in 12 days.
“It was not easy. Last days were very sad and hard and I rode with sadness in the heart”, said Nibali. “Today I was in good condition and I won intermediate sprint. The final sprint was not so easy. The race showed that our preparations for Giro are on the right track. I feel better and better every day and I am looking forward to Giro D’Italia”.
Tour of Croatia 2017 – stage 6 results (Samobor – Zagreb):
| 1 | Sacha Modolo (UAE Team Emirates) | 3:16:52 |
| 2 | Jan Polanc (UAE Team Emirates) | +02” |
| 3 | Boy Van Poppel (Trek – Segafredo) | ,, |
| 4 | Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain Merida) | ,, |
| 5 | Marco Canola (Nippo – Vini Fantini) | +06” |
| 6 | Felix Grossschartner (CCC Sprandi Polkowice) | ,, |
| 7 | Nicola Boem (Bardiani CSF) | ,, |
| 8 | Daniel Auer (Felbermayr Simplon Wels) | ,, |
| 9 | James Knox (Team Wiggins) | ,, |
| 10 | Jan Hirt (CCC Sprandi Polkowice) | +09” |
Final general classification:
| 1 | Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain Merida) | 25:12:10 |
| 2 | Jaime Roson Garcia (Caja Rural – Seguros RGA) | +08” |
| 3 | Jan Hirt (CCC Sprandi Polkowice) | +23” |
| 4 | Felix Grossschartner (CCC Sprandi Polkowice) | +35” |
| 5 | Jan Polanc (UAE Team Emirates) | +40” |
| 6 | Kanstantsin Siutsou (Bahrain Merida) | +59” |
| 7 | Michal Schlegel (CCC Sprandi Polkowice) | +01’23” |
| 8 | James Knox (Team Wiggins) | +01’27” |
| 9 | Jesper Hansen (Astana) | +01’38” |
| 10 | Oscar Sanchez Guarin (Bicicletas Strongman) | +01’45” |
