Pibernik claims sixth stage of Eneco Tour as breakaway holds off peloton

Updated 24/09/2016 at 17:12 GMT

Luka Pibernik claimed the sxith stage of the Eneco Tour in dramatic fashion as he lead home a breakaway which managed to hold off the peloton by a matter of metres.

Luka Pibernik, Lampre Merida

Image credit: AFP

Slovenian rider Pibernik (Lampre-Merida) was the quickest in the sprint to beat Britain's Mark McNdally of Wanty-Group Gobert over the line.

Bert Van Lerberghe (Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise), Alexis Gougeard (AG2R La Mondiale) and Chad Haga (Giant-Alpecin) were the other riders in the breakaway who made it home safely ahead of the chasing pack.

That pack was led home just five seconds later by Giacomo Nizzolo (Trek-Segafredo) , while overall race leader Rohan Dennis finished safely in the main bunch to retain a 27-second lead over arch-rival Peter Sagan going into Sunday's finale.

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That final stage is a tough day's ride which could offer Sagan hope, but second-placed Taylor Phinney and third-placed Tony Martin are not expected to challenge Dennis.

"I didn’t expect this at the start this morning but once in the break, I just rode as fast as I could to the finish line," Pibernik said, according to Cycling News.

"I’ve not had a lot of time to think about it all but its been an incredible day.

"We saw that we could make it to the finish line, so I tried to save as much energy as possible.

"I think Gougeard was the strongest guy in the breakaway and so I decided to go on his wheel. Then in the last 200 metres, I tried and I made it."