Time trial travesty

Euskaltel were painfully adrift in today's penultimate ENECO Tour stage, a 17,6km ITT from and to Ardooie.

Ion Izagirre, dead last yesterday, continued to struggle and could only muster the 73rd best time, a full 1:38 down on winner Svein Tuft of Orica-GreenEdge.Yet he was the team's top finisher.

Alan Pérez, who's been looking better in the last few weeks than he's been doing all year, ended up 105th, and remains the team's top rider overall. Ahead of tomorrow's decider to the mythical Geraardsbergen, Pérez is 86th overall.

On a brighter note, former Euskaltel men Jonathan Castroviejo and Markel Irizar came in 10th and 11th respectively. Movistar's Castroviejo is now ninth overall.

Stage six results:

• (1, Svein Tuft (Orica-GreenEdge), 20:25)
• 73, Ion Izagirre, 1:38
• 98, Jorge Azanza, 2:01
• 105, Alan Pérez, 2:10
• 108, Miguel Minguez, 2:12
• 123, Víctor Cabedo, 2:28
• 130, Adrián Sáez, 2:36
• 134, Pablo Urtasun, 2:43
• 139, Pierre Cazaux, 2:51

General classification:

• (1, Svein Tuft (Orica-GreenEdge), 19:56:57)
• 86, Alan Pérez, 3:19
• 91, Víctor Cabedo, 3:37
• 119, Pierre Cazaux, 6:54
• 121, Jorge Azanza, 7:15
• 137, Miguel Minguez, 11:06
• 142, Ion Izagirre, 12:41
• 154, Pablo Urtasun, 26:39
• 155, Adrián Sáez, 30:43