La Vuelta a Espana Stage 6 Preview

The La Vuelta continues into Spain as Stage 6 starts from Bilbao and heads upward to the Ascension al Pico Jano. As the Peacock commentators quipped, “now we truly head into the mountains.”

Primoz Roglic might try to attack again here, but does Remco Evenepoel? Julian Alaphilippe and even Joao Almeida looked surprisingly timid during Stage 4. Timid is sort of safe, and safe can be death. When Roglic smells blood, he goes. The first mountain stage in Spain spans 112.6 miles and involves two main climbs and a mountaintop finish.

To get you ready for some cycling betting, let’s examine the sixth stage and who might win today.

Roglic A Solid Favorite For Stage 6

As we mentioned, stage previews are here for the critical stages. This first mountain stage could prove to be somewhat pivotal. After all, Team Jumbo Visma did let the breakaway go by about five minutes yesterday. That allowed them to give up the red jersey for now.

Temperatures heated up quite fast. It could be as high as 90-95 degrees for the riders as they approach Pico Jano Thursday afternoon. That will not feel so pleasant after all the rolling undulations.

Because of how the Slovenian handled Stage 4 and took care of business, there is speculation that Stage 6 could be a repeat as the final climb (Category 1) suits Roglic. It allows him to make the accelerations few can match.

Can Roglic do it again? It seems like if he wants to, the stage is his. 

So, La Vuelta a Espana this year’s opening mountain stage begs again the following question. Could a breakaway survive? Though that is possible, there is a feeling that someone in the general classification will make a move. Look at Marc Soler in Stage 5, for example.

Peacock will stream the stage live in the States, but the Olympic Channel will air the stage beginning at 9 a.m. ET. Also, note GCN’s coverage and recaps of the stages as they happen. 

What Did We Learn From Stage 4?

Stage 4 saw Evenepoel look a bit human. Though he handled the punch well enough, Evenepoel, like many others, just could not keep up with the sprinting acceleration of Roglic. Keep in mind that early on, Roglic is 26 seconds clear of his rivals early on. He is not worried about who leads now.

This stage has some rolling hills and ascensions (three in the first 20 miles or so), but the first real climb happens around mile 43 as the riders climb up a Category 2 that has some kickers near double-digits.  After the Category 1 Collada de Brenes (4.2 miles at 8.2%), there will be some sore legs.

Then, there is Jano, which has two 12% kickers that will test the cyclists heavily. One of those could feature an attack. Also, the road tilts flatter for a bit over a mile. The mountain’s second half has smaller spikes of up to 11% but is less harsh. Getting away early may be enough to win the day.

Final Words And Predictions

The books love Roglic, and rightfully so. There is a long shot in his teammate Sepp Kuss at +4700 to consider. 

Team Jumbo Visma mght let Kuss get a shot at glory if he has the legs. Roglic still has some value at +300, but the key word is some.

Evenepoel concerned us a bit, and his +900 to +1100 range is intriguing, but we might back off.

Thibault Pinot at +2400 is intriguing because of his ability to climb kickers like Jano. As always, we will be up early with more last-minute picks. Good luck!