Evans waits and wins Stage 6, and Simon Clarke hangs on to some classy wheels

A nice win by Evans but whilst the Italians were doing their best to smash each other it's also notable that Simon Clarke was still there in that same lead bunch... and there are some classy riders behind him.

Tirreno-Adriatico: Stage 6, Route Maps & Results | Cyclingnews.com

Cadel Evans (BMC) took advantage of the internecine rivalry between Michele Scarponi (Lampre-ISD) and Vincenzo Nibali (Liquigas-Cannondale) on the final climb to Macerata to strengthen his command of Tirreno-Adriatico. The Australian watched as the Italian pair shut one another down in the finale and then unleashed a devastating acceleration of his own to take a resounding stage victory and consolidate his overall lead.

Tirreno-Adriatico: Stage 6, Route Maps & Results | Cyclingnews.com

Riders of the calibre of Andy Schleck and Fabian Cancellara (Leopard Trek) were among those deposited unceremoniously out of the back once the road pitched upwards, but it was at the front end of the race where the real drama took place.

Tirreno-Adriatico: Stage 6, Route Maps & Results | Cyclingnews.com

1 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 4:37:58
2 Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Farnese Vini - Neri Sottoli
3 Michele Scarponi (Ita) Lampre - ISD
4 Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
5 Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale
6 Wout Poels (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
7 Stefano Garzelli (Ita) Acqua & Sapone
8 Robert Gesink (Ned) Rabobank Cycling Team
9 Philippe Gilbert (Bel) Omega Pharma-Lotto
10 Tiago Machado (Por) Team RadioShack
11 Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) AG2R La Mondiale
12 Danilo Di Luca (Ita) Katusha Team
13 Simon Clarke (Aus) Pro Team Astana
14 Thomas Lövkvist (Swe) Sky Procycling 0:00:09
15 Marco Pinotti (Ita) HTC-Highroad
16 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre - ISD 0:00:11

SBS: Cycling Central : Evans grabs gutsy Tirreno-Adriatico stage win

Evans went into the penultimate stage with just a 02sec lead on Italy's Ivan Basso (Liquigas), and, riding into the finish after strong support from his BMC team, found himself facing several attacks late in the 178km stage from Ussita to Macerata.

The Australian, however, fought back every time a gap opened up, and even had to deal with some elbow argy-bargy in the final kilometre with former teammate Philippe Gilbert (Omega Pharma-Lotto), before pulling away from a select group in the final few hundred metres.