Chavanel wins 6th stage of Paris-Nice

NICE, France — Sylvain Chavanel of France has won a bunch sprint to take the sixth stage of the Paris-Nice race on Saturday, while Richie Porte of Australia retains the leader’s yellow jersey.

Chavanel edged out Philippe Gilbert of Belgium to complete the 136-mile trek from Manosque to Nice in 5 hours, 14 minutes, 23 seconds.

Porte leads the overall standings, 32 seconds ahead of Andrew Talansky of the United States ahead of Sunday’s final stage, and is looking to become the first Australian to win the weeklong race.

The Sky team controlled much of the race to protect Porte’s lead. Egor Silin and Eduard Vorganov of Russia broke away from the pack in the opening miles and were joined by nine riders. The small group built a lead that reached nearly four minutes after 54 miles, but was reeled in 22 miles from the finish.

Froome wins tough 4th stage of Tirreno-Adriatico

PRATI DI TIVO, Italy — Tour de France runner-up Chris Froome has won the difficult uphill finish of stage four of the weeklong Tirreno-Adriatico race Saturday.

After his Sky teammates led him up most of the climb, Froome attacked in the final mile and finished 6 seconds ahead of Mauro Santambrogio of Italy. Defending champion Vincenzo Nibali was third.

Polish rider Mikhal Kwiatkowski finished fourth and took the overall lead from Omega Pharma-Quick Step teammate Mark Cavendish, a sprinter who finished far back.

In the overall, Kwiatkowski has a 4-second lead on Froome, with Nibali third. Alberto Contador, who finished sixth in the stage after several attacks in the final miles, is fourth overall, 30 seconds back.