Stage 6 of La Vuelta began with the climbing starting almost immediately, and so too did the battle for the breakaway. On the slopes of the Coll de Sentigosa, several groups tried their luck before a strong move of ten riders finally established itself. Among them were Jay Vine, Bruno Armirail, Torstein Træen, Archie Ryan, Lorenzo Fortunato, Pablo Castrillo and Louis Vervaeke, a collection of climbing specialists who were well-suited to the day’s profile.
Vine took the early KOM points at the summit, showing his intent, while Vervaeke also gathered valuable points to move into the lead of the mountains classification.
Photo Credit: Unipublic / Cxcling / Antonio BaixauliThe peloton, led for much of the day by Visma | Lease a Bike, kept the gap under control but never looked inclined to shut it down completely. The leaders’ advantage rose above six minutes at one point on the Collada de Toses, a long but gentle cat.1 climb that set the scene for the sharper tests to come.
By the time the race crossed the border into Andorra with 60 km to go, it was clear the break had the upper hand, and attention turned to who might have the legs to finish it off. Rain showers made the descents treacherous, but the leaders worked together efficiently, while behind, the GC teams were already eyeing the final ramps to Pal.
Photo Credit: Unipublic / Cxcling / Antonio BaixauliVine attacks on La Comella, Træen takes La Roja
The stage reached its turning point on the Alto de la Comella, a short but steep cat.2 climb where Vine attacked hard from the breakaway. His acceleration immediately blew the group apart, and by the summit he had carved out a solo lead, adding KOM points and bonus seconds to his tally. Behind him, Træen began to ride his own tempo, aware that the red jersey was within reach if he could limit losses to Vine and hold off Armirail.
On the final ascent to Pal, Vine extended his lead to nearly a minute and never faltered. He paced the 9.6 km climb with authority, while Træen hovered behind, gradually distancing Armirail and Fortunato in the fight for overall position. In the peloton, Lidl-Trek’s work saw Juan Ayuso dropped, a blow to UAE’s three-pronged GC strategy, but the favourites otherwise marked each other.
Photo Credit: Unipublic / Cxcling / Antonio BaixauliCiccone launched a stinging attack with Vingegaard on his wheel, joined briefly by Almeida and Buitrago, but the group soon came back together with Sepp Kuss policing moves.
Vine entered the final kilometre with the win secured, raising his arms for his third career Vuelta stage victory after earlier successes in 2022. Træen arrived 54 seconds later, enough to make him the new overall leader, the third Norwegian in history to wear La Roja. Armirail, Fortunato and the other remnants of the break followed, while the GC contenders rolled in just behind, Vingegaard still close at hand but no longer in red.
The stage delivered both a breakthrough win and a change at the top of the standings, setting up a tense continuation of the Pyrenean battles to come.
2025 Vuelta a Espana Stage 6 result
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Main photo credit: Cor Vos
