The 197 kilometres six stage from Sant Joan Despí to Vilanova i la Geltrú was the longest course of the week-long race, part of the International Cycling Union (UCI) World Tour, but was expected to end in a sprint.

After the breakaway had prevailed yesterday, the sprint teams were understandably on alert when an 11-man move escaped, after 65km of racing.

Lampre–Merida in particular worked to keep the breakaway under control, however the escapees’ advantage peaked at over five minutes.

Their advantage began to tumble inside the final 30km as they ascended the La Juncosa del Montmell, which caused the Czech Republic’s Petr Vakoc to attack from the break.

The Etixx-QuickStep rider was joined by Australia’s Cameron Meyer and The Netherlands’ Bert-Jan Lindeman, the trio remaining clear until the final kilometre of the race.

Their challenge ultimately fell short with the peloton eventually closing the gap, leaving Cimolai to sprint to victory in a time of 4 hours 35min 13sec.

Germany’s Nikias Arndt and Belgium’s Tosh Van Der Sande completed the top three, having been awarded the same time as the winner.

“It was uncertain until the last kilometre,” Cimolai said.

“The team was pulled and has done a great job to bring us the stage.”

With the main contenders finishing in the peloton, the overall classification remained largely unchanged.

Colombia’s Nairo Quintana will therefore take a seven second lead into tomorrow’s 136km stage in Barcelona, with the stage race concluding with a hilly profile.

Spain’s Alberto Contador currently occupies second position, while Australia’s Richie Porte is 17 seconds behind the race leader as he looks to win the race for the second consecutive year.