CYCLING:Nicolas Roche had a long day in the saddle on yesterday's sixth stage of the Tour of Italy, wheeling across the line in a large group of riders 17 minutes and 41 seconds behind the day's winner, Luis Felipe Laverde Jimenez (Ceramica Panaria- Navigare), writes Shane Stokes.

T-Mobile rider Marco Pinotti was second and took over the pink jersey of race leadership.

Previous leader Danilo Di Luca had indicated he was prepared to relinquish his lead to save his team's energy for later in the race.

The Giro continues today with its longest stage, a 254km marathon to Scarperia. Roche is 160th overall.