Nozal notches stunning win

Isidro Nozal of Spain put forth a storming run to win the sixth stage of the Vuelta a Espana on Thursday. The ONCE-Eroski rider's convincing victory in the 43.8-kilometre individual time trial helped him cushion his lead in the general classification.

Eurosport

Image credit: TNT Sports

Nozal was untouchable in the Zaragoza time trial; even British specialist David Millar couldn't stop his challenge. Millar, one of the huge favourites, had to settle for second place, 1:20 behind Nozal, while Czech rider Jan Hruska finished third, 1:26 adrift.

Entering the mountain stages, Nozal now has an overall advantage of 2:27 over his ONCE-Eroski team mate Igor Gonzalez de Galdeano.

"With this result we've shown we've got a team that could win the Tour of Spain," Nozal said after his victory. "I would have been happy just to hold on to the leader's jersey today."

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Rounding out the top five were Gonzalez De Galdeano (+1:37) in fourth followed by defending champion Aitor Gonzalez (Fassa Bortolo) (+1:41) in fifth.

Riders will enter France during Friday's seventh stage of the Vuelta, which takes riders 190 km from Huesca to the French town of Cauterets. Follow the race live from 13:00 CET!

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