Vuelta a España 2019 – Stage 6 Preview

Some nice racing today! After a seemingly weak breakaway was allowed a huge advantage, it was the mountain jersey wear Madrazo who suprised everyone after seemingly dropping, taking a h-u-g-e victory for the pro-continental Burgos team.

In the GC fight Lopez once again proved why we often mention him as the best climber in the world, Roglic and Valverde managed to keep the gap small and Chaves and Pogacar also reduced time loss. Our pick Quintana finished 8th, which is sub-par for a two-fold grand tour winner known for his climbing skills.

With Lopez now in red, and Valverde en Roglic not far behind, tactics will start to get more interesting later this week.

But first up, tomorrow’s stage!

The Route:

Stage 6 (198.9 km) will take us from Mora de Rubielos to Ares de Maestrat. Another mountain finish, but this time on a way easier cat-3 climb.

After today’s GC battle there sure are some riders who have conserved energy in order to freshly join tomorrow’s breakaway. Given that tomorrow is not a stage to claw back lots of time in GC against Lopez, a non-dangerous breakaway will probably be allowed to stay all the way to the finish line.

The route also really suits a breakaway since there are 2 col’s at the start during which the breakaway can form. This will also mean that it will be easier for climbers to join the breakaway than it would have been if we had a flat start.

Since tomorrow’s stage will be all about the final climb, let’s take a closer look at it.

Not too steep, but a climb where the non-climbers can be dropped. With the final kilometer being more steep, we suspect that the rider with the strongest punch that manages to hang on till the end wins.

As you can see on the picture kilometer 2 till 1 is false-flat, after which you have a hairpin that leads us into the steeper final kilometer. If a rider still has the energy to launch an attack there, it will be hard to catch-up.

The Weather:

Nice racing weather with some small wind from the southeast (tailwind on most of the climb) and temperatures of around 25 degrees.

The Race:

An early break will form on the cat2 climb, and should usually last all the way up to the finish. The strongest rider in the breakaway wins.

With that said, let’s head over to the break-away lottery!

The Favorites:

Thomas de Gendt
Number one on the breakaway list. Perfect stage for him as he should be able to handle the climbs and has plenty of opportunities to go solo. If no team has the manpower in the break to chase him down we might very well see him win. Given that Lotto Soudal is a stage-hunting team he might actually be one of the guys who has teammate(s) upfront.

Remi Cavagna
Won a stage with an impressive solo during the Tour of California and loves himself a breakaway! Climbs very well and possesses somewhat of an uphill kick. Can win both solo and from a front group. Will be hopeful of getting Quickstep their second stage-win.

Alex Aranburu
Has the punch to challenge for the win if he makes it to the line with the front group. Was very impressive during stage two and lost almost 20 minutes today. If he makes it into the break many riders will be affraid of dragging him to the finish-line, as he is strong enough to deliver the pro-continental teams their second stage-win in a row!

Felix Großschartner 
Incredibly strong rider and a personal favorite for these kind of stages! Has a strong up-hill kick which he has been showing all season. If BORA allows him to go for personal glory, we think he has a huge chance of challenging for a rather impressive win! Also lost a lot of time today so will be fresh tomorrow!

Tao Geogegan-Hart
He is either sick or he has something up on his sleeve! Lost 20 minutes today which does not line up with the results he produced prior to the Vuelta. Has quite a punch so he should be another decent contester!

Luis Leon Sanchez/Omar Fraile
With Lopez solid in red, they could send someone up the road to try and get their team some more success. In the unlikely scenario that Astana give’s their team the green light for this, Sanchez/Fraile would be the most obvious choices as this finish is perfect for them. We consider this very unlikely given Astana’s total dedication on supporting Lopez.

Jesus Herrada
11 minutes behind on GC, he should be given some freedom. Has the necessary climbing skills, but will have to arrive solo is he wants to win. Spoke-out on the ambition to go for stages, so should be one-to-watch for tomorrow!

Neilson Powless
Made a very strong impression during the Tour of Poland. If Jumbo Visma gives him off Roglic-duty, we could see the American fare very well!

Outsiders: Brambilla, Craddock, and almost any other semi-decent climbers who is >10 minutes behind on GC.

The Winner:

Somewhat of a suprise pick: Felix Großschartner for his first grand tour win!