Pogačar remains in the top 10 after attacking on the final climb of stage 6

Stage 6 of this year’s race saw the main contenders battle it out on another brutal summit finish, with Tadej Pogacar attacking off the front of the peloton to cross the line in 11th place and retain a top 10 spot in the GC. The stage was won by breakaway rider Jesus Herrada (Cofidis) followed by Dylan Teuns (Bahrain Merida) who rode himself into the red leaders jersey.

The stage was fast and frenetic from the gun, with a number of breakaways trying their luck and being reeled back in during the early phases of the race. However the main drama began after a series of crashes wiped out the peloton and saw some of the GC hopefuls retire from the race. UAE Team Emirates’ Sebastian Molano was involved, but managed to finish the stage.

With four categorised climbs along the 198.8km route from Mora de Rubieold to Ares del Maestrat, the peloton was never going to stay together and after two ascents and 60ms of riding an 11-man strong breakaway had established a solid gap. The gap continued to grow and as the front of the race hit the final climb, the peloton was over 6 minutes behind.

As the breakaway attacked itself on the Ares del Maestrat, with Teuns and Herrada eventually taking the day’s spoils, the peloton set its own pace and stayed together. Then, with 1.5kms to go, Pogacar (photo Bettini) surprised the pack with an explosive solo attack that allowed him to gain some time on his rivals and keep his GC ambitions alive.
Fabio Aru finished with the main GC contenders and jumped up one place in the overall standing to 16th.

Pogacar speaking after the race: “On the first two climbs it was really fast and a lot of guys were dropped, so it was a small group.
The break didn’t go until the second climb and Astana set a hard pace in the peloton.
I felt quite good today so on the last part of the climb I tried to attack to gain few extra seconds”.

Tomorrow sees the third summit finish in a row for the peloton and will be a major factor in shaping the GC. It comes after 183.2kms of racing from Onda to Mas del la Costa, a route that features no less than five categorized climbs.

Stage 6 results
1 Jesus Herrada (Esp) Cofidis 4h43’55”
2 Dylan Teuns (Bel) Bahrain-Merida 7″
3 Dorian Godon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 10″
11 Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates 5’42”
22 Fabio Aru (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 5’44”

General classification after stage 6
1 Dylan Teuns (Bel) Bahrain-Merida 23h44’00”
2 David De La Cruz (Esp) Team Ineos 38″
3 Miguel Angel Lopez (Col) Astana 1′
10 Tadej Pogačar  (Slo) UAE Team Emirates 2’47”
16 Fabio Aru (Ita) UAE Team Emirates 3’47”