Tadej Pogačar won Vuelta stage six after a tense duel with Enric Mas and a brief off-road scare on the final descent.
The UAE Team Emirates-XRG rider claimed his third victory of this Vuelta a España. He has now won half of the stages contested so far.
Mas, riding for Movistar, produced the strongest challenge to the red jersey on the Puerto El Bartolo. He caught Pogačar near the summit, crossed the top first, and then worked with him toward the finish.
Pogačar still had enough speed in the final sprint. Mas finished in the same time, while Ramses Debruyne of Alpecin-Premier Tech took third at 46 seconds.
Vuelta stage six turns into a GC selection
Thursday’s route looked suited to a breakaway, especially with a gravel sector on the final climb. The early racing made that difficult.
The break did not form until inside the final 100km. That left the leaders with limited time to build a race-winning advantage.
UAE Team Emirates-XRG kept the move under control before increasing pressure on Puerto El Bartolo. Pogačar said the team had planned to allow a break, but the long fight to establish it changed the situation.
He said it took nearly two hours for the move to form. That meant UAE had to control less than half the stage.
João Almeida and Kevin Vermaerke helped keep the race together. Pavel Sivakov, Jay Vine and Pablo Torres then positioned Pogačar for his attack on the climb.
Fourteen riders remained up front on the final climb with just over 90 seconds on the reduced peloton. The group included Carlos Canal, Tom Gloag, Santiago Buitrago, Patrick Konrad, Debruyne, George Bennett, Gianmarco Garofoli, Andreas Kron, Vincenzo Albanese, Hannes Wilksch, José Manuel Díaz, Lars Craps, Gijs Leemreize and Urko Berrade.
That group soon broke apart. Canal, Gloag, Albanese, Wilksch, Konrad, Bennett and Leemreize lost contact as UAE drove the favourites closer.
Pogačar accelerated on the newly resurfaced road before the gravel. Oscar Onley was the only rider able to follow immediately.
Mas, Primož Roglič and Richard Carapaz chased behind, with Felix Gall briefly distanced before returning to that group.
Debruyne reached the gravel sector first, but Pogačar closed a 30-second gap quickly. The red jersey reached the front with just under 3km of climbing remaining.
Mas catches Pogačar before descent scare
Mas then delivered the standout chase of the day. He caught Pogačar and edged him at the top of Puerto El Bartolo.
Pogačar later said he was surprised because race radio had reported a 40-second gap to the chasers. He said Mas passed him “like a rocket.”
The descent almost changed the race. Pogačar misjudged a corner and ran onto a muddy verge, but he stayed upright and returned to the road.
The leading pair then committed on the flat run-in. Their cooperation increased the gap over the next group.
Roglić, Gall, Carapaz, Debruyne and Harold Tejada rode about half a minute behind. Onley was around another minute back with Sepp Kuss and Mattias Skjelmose.
Mas tried to make Pogačar lead into the sprint. The Slovenian still opened enough power to win comfortably.
The result strengthened Pogačar’s overall lead. Mas moved into second overall, while Roglič dropped to third.
Onley lost ground in the general classification. The Netcompany-Ineos rider finished 1:38 behind Pogačar and slipped from fifth to seventh overall.
Stage seven brings another major test for the contenders. The 150km stage includes well over 3,000 metres of elevation and a category-one summit finish.
Stage six top 10
- 1. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, 4:12:40
- 2. Enric Mas (Spa) Movistar, same time
- 3. Ramses Debruyne (Bel) Alpecin-Premier Tech, +46s
- 4. Richard Carapaz (Ecu) EF Education-EasyPost, same time
- 5. Harold Tejada (Col) XDS-Astana, same time
- 6. Felix Gall (Aut) Decathlon CMA CGM, same time
- 7. Primož Roglič (Slo) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, same time
- 8. Cristián Rodríguez (Spa) XDS-Astana, +1:38
- 9. Clément Berthet (Fra) Groupama-FDJ United, same time
- 10. Mattias Skjelmose (Den) Lidl-Trek, same time
General classification top 10
- 1. Tadej Pogačar (Slo) UAE Team Emirates-XRG, 15:38:27
- 2. Enric Mas (Spa) Movistar, +3:34
- 3. Primož Roglič (Slo) Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, +4:21
- 4. Richard Carapaz (Ecu) EF Education-EasyPost, +4:50
- 5. Felix Gall (Aut) Decathlon CMA CGM, +4:55
- 6. Sepp Kuss (USA) Visma-Lease a Bike, +5:36
- 7. Oscar Onley (GBr) Netcompany-Ineos, +5:37
- 8. Ramses Debruyne (Bel) Alpecin-Premier Tech, +5:40
- 9. Mattias Skjelmose (Den) Lidl-Trek, +5:58
- 10. Harold Tejada (Col) XDS-Astana, +6:30