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Young Miguel Ángel López victorious in queen stage of Tour de San Luis

A battle of Colombians on Saturday's queen stage of the Tour de San Luis saw Miguel Ángel López (Astana) out-power Movistar's Quintana brothers.

A battle of Colombians on Saturday’s queen stage of the Tour de San Luis saw Miguel Ángel López (Astana) out-power Movistar’s Quintana brothers. Dayer Quintana takes over the lead from Argentinian Eduardo “Sepultura” Sepulveda with one stage remaining.

The peloton launched from La Toma, mindful not only of Adriano Malori’s Friday crash that put him into an induced coma, but also Giant-Alpecin’s training ride collision with a car in Spain on Saturday. A trio of breakaways, Eduardo Grosu (Romania/Nippo-Vini Fantini), Matej Mohoric (Slovenia/Lampre) and Juan Pablo Magallanes (Mexico/Mexico) pulled out a maximum of 7:30 over the peloton.

The stage would conclude on a 16-km climb of three levels: a gradual Cat. 3 ascent and then two Cat. 1 steps, with the finish line on Filo de la Sierra de Comechingones. The gap was 3:00 when the fugitives hit the Cat. 3 Balnerario El Rincon with local team San Luis leading the peloton.

Grosu, sixth place on Friday, would be the last escapee to survive and he would find three reinforcements flare out from the pack. However, with Astana and Movistar driving the pace, the new configuration would get absorbed with 10-km remaining.

The high winds inhibited any attacking but eventually Colombian Rodolfo Torres (Androni-Sidermec) and Costa Rican Josue Gonzalez flashed away. Torres lost his companion with 5-km remaining. Two kilometres later, the Quintana brothers, along with race leader Sepulveda and Lopez surged up the road to make a quintet.

Then, in the final kilometres, the Colombians separated themselves and when it was time to contest the win, the brothers couldn’t match the dig of the 21-year-old who took the Tour de l’Avenir in 2014. López rockets up to fourth on GC. Similar to how the Argentinians swept Friday’s podium, Colombia bossed the day’s top three.

If Dayer can survive Sunday’s rippled 120-km course, he will take his first career stage race triumph.

2016 Tour de San Luis Stage 6

1) Miguel Ángel López (Colombia/Astana) 4:35:49
2) Nairo Quintana (Colombia/Movistar) +0:02
3) Dayer Quintana (Colombia/Movistar) +0:04

2016 Tour de San Luis GC
1) Dayer Quintana (Colombia/Movistar) 20:15:21
2) Eduardo Sepulveda (Argentina/Fortuneo-Vital Concept +0:20
3) Nairo Quintana (Colombia/Movistar) +0:35