Stage 6: Cervera › Port Aventura – 194.1 km
Stage 5 of the Volta a Catalunya was yet another day of GC action, with Alejandro Valverde soloing to victory ahead of a select group of riders, but the profile of Stage 6 will have the sprinters finally hoping for a chance to make their mark on the race. The long, low-gradient Alt de Prades in the middle of the stage won’t be an easy jaunt for anyone, but with about 70 kilometers after the top of the climb until the beginning of the next categorized challenge, anyone who struggles on the Cat. 1 will have plenty of opportunity to get back into the mix. That next categorized challenge is a short Cat. 3 crested over 30 kilometers from the line. From there, it’s a fast downhill followed by about 20 km of flat.
The late climb and steep descent towards the end of the day will certainly entice the punchier riders in the bunch, but several sprinters made their way to Catalunya hoping to come away with WorldTour stage victories, and one has to think that after so many days escaping their fast-finishing grasps, those quick men will be gunning for this stage, where a relative dearth of climbs will give them a chance.
Still, some uphill ability will be required to come to the line fresh. Bryan Coquard, very fast in a pure sprint but also capable of going up and over the occasional climb, is the prime pick. With Pierre Rolland out of the GC picture, Europcar should be throwing their full weight behind Coquard now.
Luka Mezgec is another strong pick, also very fast in a pure sprint. Unlike Coquard, he’s won several WorldTour-level sprints in his career, and against the young up-and-comer (who does tend to have positioning issues), that experience could come in handy.
Julian Alaphilippe gets a mention practically every day, but he hasn’t delivered just yet. Still, he’ll be more capable of surviving the pressure of late attacks by the GC riders than most of the other quick men here. The same is true for JJ Rojas, but Movistar clearly isn’t done backing Alejandro Valverde in this race just yet.
Speaking of Valverde, he’s certainly a contender again on Stage 6, where the late ramp will offer him a chance to break up the race, or at least shed some sprinter weight. As usual, Dan Martin, Rigoberto Urán, and Wilco Kelderman are others to watch if the final lead group is reduced too much to feature any sprinters.
VeloHuman Stage Favorites
1. Bryan Coquard | 2. Luka Mezgec | 3. Julian Alaphilippe
-Dane Cash
Be sure to follow @VeloHuman on Twitter for more race analysis!
Leave a Reply