Stage six saw the riders make the 187.5 kilometres journey from Puerto-Lumbreras to Pozo Alcón.

Despite an early breakaway group, the peloton kept the gap to under four minutes throughout the race.

The pack then upped the pace in the closing 45km to bring the gap down to a minute and gave Gallopin the chance to make his move with two kilometres to go.

The Frenchman had enough strength left to hold off the challenge of world champion Peter Sagan and Spaniard Alejandro Valverde.

Gallopin’s win follows yesterday’s victory by fellow countryman Nacer Bouhanni.

Team Sky’s Michal Kwiatkowski, who lost the red jersey to Molard earlier on at the Spanish Grand Tour, crashed with eight kilometres to go and drops out of the top five in the general classification standings.

Groupama–FDJ rider Molard continues to wear red as Valverde, riding for Movistar Team, moved up to second.

Germany's Emanuel Buchmann and Britain's Simon Yates are third and fourth respectively, while Gallopin’s win saw him move up to fifth.

In the Boels Ladies Tour, Amalie Dideriksen claimed her second stage win in Weert after a sprint finish.

The Danish rider is now tied with Annemiek van Vleuten for stage wins, with Dutch rider remaining the overall leader.

Israel's Omer Shapira made the first break of the day, creating a gap of a minute between herself and the peloton.

Despite a chasing group, Shapira extended her advantage to 2:15 with 24km to go.

Shapira led the race for over 100km but was reeled back in by the peloton with 16km to go.

A failed attempt by Dutch rider Amy Pieters to break away left the door open for the in-form Dane, who took her second consecutive win on the tour.

Van Vleuten retains her lead but Lucinda Brand, who came second in today’s race, has closed the gap with two stages remaining.