Thursday, September 12: Live updates from Stage 6
ALMERIA, Spain

3:50 p.m. (local time):
There's a two-man break that's out and they just passed the 92-kilometer mark. The riders are Marco Di Renzo (Cantina-Tollo) and Francisco Cabello (Kelme). They have about a 12-minute lead now, at the halfway point of today's stage.

Di Renze broke from the pack at the 28-kilometer mark, and Cabello made his break at 31 kilometers.

By the 51-kilometer mark they had a 15-minute lead, and by the 71-kilometer mark they were 18:49 out. But then the Saeco and MG teams went to the front of the pack and started to hammer. Now the lead is under 11 minutes.

There's a really strong headwind today so the pace is really slow. The riders only covered 62 kilometers in the first hour.

There's still a Category 3 climb to come at the 140-kilometer mark, where Motorola's Bobby Julich will try to retain the climber's jersey.

Results from the first points sprint, at the 27-kilometer mark:

Fabio Baldato (MG) beat Laurent Jalabert (ONCE), taking another second off his lead
Luca Pavanello (AKI-Gipiemme) was third

4:23 p.m. (local time):
American rider Bobby Julich keeps the climber's jersey for another day.

Di Renzo and Cabello are still leading the peloton, though their advantage has shrunk to a 7:55 lead. They were the first two riders over the Category 3 climb.

From here it's flat all the way into Malaga against a strong headwind.

4:48 p.m. (local time):
With 50 kilometers to go Di Renzo and Cabello are out five minutes in front of the peloton.

A clarification: Bobby Julich (Motorola) took third in the climb, so he got two more points. He keeps the climber's jersey.

It's pretty windy along the coast, and the peloton is behind schedule because of it. There is about another hour to hour-and-a-half left in today's stage.

5:23 p.m. (local time):
With 10 kilometers to go the leaders were just caught. The peloton is roaring into Malaga, an historic port city.

Scrigno and MG are at the front of the pack now.

5:26 p.m. (local time):
The pack is stringing out, with each team positioning its best riders. There are five kilometers to go.

5:28 p.m. (local time):
With two kilometers left to go, the ONCE and MG teams are leading the pack. Jalabert and Baldato are getting set up for the sprint finish.

5:30 p.m. (local time):
The AKI and Telekom teams have moved up to join ONCE and MG.

5:33 p.m. (local time):
Fabio Baldato won the stage, which may put him into the leader's jersey on points bonuses. His time was 5 hours, 40 minutes, and 47 seconds

Dimitri Konyshev (AKI) came in second and Nicola Minali (Gewiss) was third. Konyshev led out too early and Baldato blew past him.

5:43 p.m. (local time):
It's confirmed: Fabio Baldato (MG) takes the overall leader's jersey from Laurent Jalabert (ONCE). Baldato has 11 points on Jalabert and 22 points on third-place rider Giovanni Lombardi (Polit).