Vuelta Stage 6 Preview: Don’t Miss the Start

climbThe first summit finish of the Vuelta delivered a first win for wildcard Burgos-BH through Ángel Madrazo, a rider who really has made a big noise in the first week of this Vuelta, taking the mountain jersey (perhaps for keeps at this rate) and now this stage. Behind, Miguel Ángel Lopez took the red jersey and now looks a real chance to win this Vuelta.

Stage six brings more climbing and, in all likelihood, more breakaway success. It’s got all the signs: a tough start to force a strong breakaway and some further climbs towards the end.

The final climbs aren’t hard enough to really expect a GC battle that yields more than a minimum of seconds for any party so really it should just be a battle for the stage between some breakaway specialists. The final climb is below:

Tame enough, I should say. Time to look for a few names now: Dylan Teuns seems an obvious one, winning a first-week climbing stage from a breakaway in the Tour and here’s another that’s arguably better-suited to his style. Valerio Conti seems adept for this one as well, as does Omar Fraile. Fraile would be my pick if he weren’t working for the red jersey, but there you are. Conti to win.

The jerseys should stay as they are. Bennett won’t lose green, Lopez seems secure on these climbs and Madrazo has a huge lead. Cheers.