Vuelta a Espana 2013 Results: Stage 6 Standings, Highlights and Recap

Despite a heroic performance from Tony Martin, who led the sixth stage of the Vuelta a Espana for much of the day, it was Michael Morkov who crossed the finish line first and took the stage. 

Vincenzo Nibali (22 hours, 38 minutes and seven seconds) maintained his three-second lead over American Christopher Horner, while Nicolas Roche remains in third at eight seconds behind.   

Martin led the stage for most of the day, sprinting out to an early lead. He nearly led wire-to-wire, but with about 10 meters to go was caught by Fabian Cancellara and the peleton. Morkov wasn't far behind and saved his best for last, sliding into the lead ahead of Maximiliano Ariel Richeze and Cancellara.

Remarkably, Martin managed to still finish near the top of the leaderboard, coming in at seventh place. It was an amazing showing after pacing the race all afternoon. 

The sixth stage didn't have any points climbs, but did include two intermediate sprints, both of which were won by Martin. His eight points on the day took him to 15th overall in the points lead, while Michael Matthews didn't take any points on the day but remains in the lead with 51. 

Daniel Moreno remains second in the points with 48, while Richeze is third with 40 (and surely will be disappointed after coming so close to winning the stage). The 20 points he earned from finishing second helped his pursuit of the points title quite a bit, however. 

The race turns to the seventh stage through Almendralejo, another flat stage that will feature the sprinters. The 195-kilometer course is expected to go quickly and should provide another exciting finish. 

Stage Results

Position.	Name	Time	Deficit
1.	MORKOV, Michael	3h 54' 15''
2.	RICHEZE, Maximiliano Ariel	3h 54' 15''	+ 0''
3.	CANCELLARA, Fabian	3h 54' 15''	+ 0''
4.	FARRAR, Tyler	3h 54' 15''	+ 0''
5.	FLECHA, Juan Antonio	3h 54' 15''	+ 0''
6.	MATTHEWS, Michael	3h 54' 15''	+ 0''
7.	MARTIN, Tony	3h 54' 15''	+ 0''
8.	MEERSMAN, Gianni	3h 54' 15''	+ 0''
9.	GILBERT, Philippe	3h 54' 15''	+ 0''
10.	BROWN, Graeme	3h 54' 15''	+ 0''

Note: 121 other riders finished in the peloton at 3:54:15.  

Courtesy LaVuelta.com

Overall Classifications

Position	Name	Time	Deficit
1.	NIBALI, Vincenzo	22h 38' 07''
2.	HORNER, Christopher	22h 38' 10''	+ 3''
3.	ROCHE, Nicolas	22h 38' 15''	+ 8''
4.	ZUBELDIA, Haimar	22h 38' 23''	+ 16''
5.	VALVERDE, Alejandro	22h 38' 28''	+ 21''
6.	KISERLOVSKI, Robert	22h 38' 33''	+ 26''
7.	URAN, Rigoberto	22h 38' 35''	+ 28''
8.	MORENO, Daniel	22h 38' 38''	+ 31''
9.	MAJKA, Rafal	22h 38' 45''	+ 38''
10.	KREUZIGER, Roman	22h 38' 49''	+ 42''

Courtesy LaVuelta.com