Scarponi wins 6th stage of Giro, while Di Luca holds overall lead; Armstrong loses time

Scarponi wins 6th stage of Giro; Armstrong back

MAYRHOFEN IM ZILLERTAL, Austria — Danilo Di Luca of Italy retained the overall Giro d’Italia lead, Lance Armstrong lost time again and Michele Scarponi won the sixth stage on Thursday.

Di Luca, of LPR Brakes, maintained a 5-second lead over Thomas Lovkvist of Sweden in the overall standings. Lovkvist’s Columbia-High Road teammate Michael Rogers was third, 36 seconds behind.

“Today was harder than it looked,” Di Luca said. “What Scarponi did was impressive. We didn’t have any interest in chasing him down. We only wanted to defend the pink jersey today.”

Scarponi of the Diquigiovanni team, covered the 154-mile leg in 5 hours, 49 minutes, 55 seconds after a long breakaway as the race crossed into Austria.

Armstrong was 1:15 behind Scarponi. The seven-time Tour de France champion dropped from 22nd to 25th overall, 4:13 behind Di Luca.

Edvald Boasson Hagen of Norway finished second, 32 seconds behind Scarponi, and Allan Davis of Australia was third, also 32 seconds back.

All of the race favorites — including Di Luca, Ivan Basso and Levi Leipheimer — finished with the main pack, 36 seconds after Scarponi.

The stage began in Bressanone, Italy, and covered two climbs before a technical downhill section and a fast finish through a tight circuit under sunny skies.

Scarponi and four other riders attacked at the 34-mile mark and the Italian left behind his last breakaway companion — Vasil Kiryienka of Belarus — with 3.1 miles remaining.

“Yesterday I lost all my chances for (overall victory), so I wanted to try to attack today to make amends,” Scarponi said. “Kiryienka was a big help. I couldn’t have made it without him.”

Scarponi returned this season after an 18-month ban for involvement in the Spanish doping scandal Operation Puerto. He won the weeklong Tirreno-Adriatico race in March.

The top 10 overall positions were unchanged from Wednesday.

Armstrong’s Astana teammate Levi Leipheimer crossed 20th and remained fourth overall, 43 seconds behind Di Luca.

“It’s no secret that Leipheimer is a threat. Especially with the time trial that is so long,” Di Luca said, looking ahead to the 12th stage next week, a 37.6-mile highly technical race against the clock along the coastal area known as Cinque Terre. “It’s not a typical time trial. Levi and Rogers will be very dangerous that day.”

Armstrong got caught behind with a large group of riders when the pack split on the steep descent.

He returned this season after 3½ of retirement, and broke his collarbone in March. He is riding his first Giro to get in shape for an attempt at an eighth Tour victory in July.

The race stays overnight in Austria with the seventh stage starting in Innsbruck, crossing into Switzerland and then back into Italy to Chiavenna. The 151.6-mile leg finishes with a long downhill section.

The race ends May 31 in Rome.