Tadej Pogačar delivered a stunning but imperfect display of dominance on stage 6 of the Vuelta a España, surviving a near-crash on the descent of the Puerto El Bartolo before out-sprinting a resurgent Enric Mas to claim his third victory of the race.
The 177.4km stage from Alcossebre to Castellón was designed to shake up the general classification, and it delivered — though not in the way anyone expected. After a brutal two-hour fight to form the breakaway, UAE Team Emirates-XRG kept the race under control before Pogačar launched his attack on the punishing 1.9km gravel section of the final climb.
The Slovenian quickly opened a gap and appeared set for another solo exhibition, reminiscent of his 50km raid in Andorra on stage 4. But Mas, the four-time Vuelta podium finisher who has struggled in recent seasons, produced the ride of his resurgence. The Movistar rider bridged across on the gravel, catching Pogačar completely by surprise.
"I was just really surprised on the top. He flew past me like a rocket. I was not expecting it because I heard on the radio that I was leading by, I don't know, 40 seconds to the chasers, and there was no mention of Enric," Pogačar said. "So when he passed me, I was a little bit shocked."
The drama did not end at the summit. On the descent, Pogačar entered a left-hand turn too fast, lost grip and went off-road onto the grass. He somehow kept the bike upright and rejoined the road without crashing — a moment that could have altered the entire race.
The pair rode together through the final 10 kilometres into a headwind, with Pogačar noting he had run out of water. But when the line arrived in Castellón, the race leader left no room for doubt, accelerating in the final metres to win clearly.
"I knew that I could beat him in the sprint, but I still appreciated that he committed full, and I also committed full to the finish. Chapeau to him and it was a great race," Pogačar added.
Ramses Debruyne of Alpecin-Premier Tech was the best of the rest, finishing third at 46 seconds, ahead of Richard Carapaz and Harold Tejada in the same group.
The real story of the stage, however, was the GC shake-up behind the leading duo. Mas gained 52 seconds on Primož Roglič, Carapaz and Félix Gall, vaulting to second overall at 3:34 behind Pogačar. Roglič sits third at 4:21. The big losers were Oscar Onley and Sepp Kuss, who both shipped 1:38 to Mas and now sit more than five minutes adrift.
Stage 6 Results
1. Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) — 4:12:40 2. Enric Mas (Movistar Team) — s.t. 3. Ramses Debruyne (Alpecin-Premier Tech) — +46" 4. Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) — +46" 5. Harold Tejada (XDS Astana Team) — +46"
General Classification After Stage 6
1. Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) — 15:38:27 2. Enric Mas (Movistar) — +3:34 3. Primož Roglič (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) — +4:21 4. Richard Carapaz (EF Education-EasyPost) — +4:50 5. Félix Gall (Decathlon CMA CGM) — +4:55
Sources
- https://www.cyclingnews.com/pro-cycling/racing/vuelta-a-espana-tadej-pogacar-survives-near-crash-on-descent-for-third-victory-of-the-race-on-stage-6/
- https://en.brujulabike.com/enric-mas-surprises-pogacar-after-a-comeback-and-a-near-crash-for-the-slovenian-with-it-all-decided-in-a-sprint-vuelta-2026-stage-6-results/
