Stage 6 of the Vuelta a España starts in La Vall d’Uixó and ends 183.1 kilometres later up the Category 1 Pico del Buitre climb.
STAGE 5 WRAP
Stage 5 gave us our 2nd winner in a row as Kayden Groves justified even money favouritism to take the stage in a sprint finish for his 2nd stage win in succession. Somewhat surprisingly it was Ineos Grenadiers, Filippo Ganna who pushed him all the way to the line with Dries Van Gestel finishing 3rd.
Although banking a winner is never disappointing the stage itself never lit up as I was hoping it would and in the end there was no significant breakaway action and the peloton all rode as though expecting a sprint finish. That could have been because of the very tough stage awaiting on Thursday, but more of that down the page.
JERSEY UPDATE
Remco Evenepoel managed to pull another 6 seconds on his rivals when he took a bonus sprint some 10 kilometres from the finish of Stage 5. Overall though Jonas Vingegaard remains favourite at 11/10 with Remco Evenepoel now trading at 2/1. Roglic has made a quiet start to the race, but is still very much in contention and is priced at 7/2.
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Kaden Groves has really taken control of the Green Jersey and leads by 60 points and has shortened into 9/20 while Sepulveda now has an 11 point lead at the top of the King of the Mountains Classifications where Vingegaard still remains the favourite at 5/1
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THE ROUTE
Stage 6 is a tough one, not only does it end on the Pico del Buitre which is a 10.9 kilometre long climb at an average of 8%, but the route itself isn’t easy and there are two Cat 3 climbs along the way and there is plenty of rolling terrain.
The riders also start on an uncategorised climb so there is every chance a strong breakaway will get clear. The breakaway action on the previous two stages has been disappointing and that is because the riders have known that the sprinters teams and in particularly the team of Kaden Groves will work to close the gap. It is not so obvious which team is going to work for the stage win here though and I expect a strong break to be formed after a frantic start to the race.
Current leader, Evenepoel is certainly riding well and may fancy himself for the win, but he also risks losing time to the Jumbo-Visma pairing of Vingegaard and Roglic. If I was in his shoes I would be prepared to let the Red Jersey go for now as there is still a long, long way to Madrid. By the same token I am not convinced that Jumbo-Visma want to take the Red Jersey at this early stage and so while a battle between the top dogs is virtually guaranteed I am not convinced that it is going to be for the stage win which may well be left to the breakaway to fight out.
STAGE 6 BETTING – Click here to bet
Remco Evenepoel 8/1
Lennard Kamna 11/1
Michael Storer 11/1
Romain Bardet 11/1
Jonas Vingegaard 11/1
Primoz Roglic 12/1
Juan Ayuso 18/1
25/1 and better the balance
PREDICTION
The breakaway to fight it out and Kamna to get the win.
Suggested Bet: Kamna win at 11/1
Note: All prices correct at the time of writing but are subject to change
