Vuelta a España stage 6 preview: Who will conquer the gravel wall to Castelló?

After the opening mountain battle in Andorra and a more controlled day towards Roquetes, the race turns south for 177.5 kilometres between Alcossebre and Castelló.

There is almost 3,000 metres of climbing and four classified ascents, but the profile alone does not tell the full story.

The decisive point comes late on the Puerto El Bartolo.

The category 1 climb measures 9.4km at 7.1%, but includes 1.9km of gravel averaging almost 12%. A technical descent follows before roughly nine kilometres of flatter roads into Castelló.

It is difficult enough to create serious gaps, but the distance from the summit to the finish makes a full GC battle less obvious.

Tadej Pogačar already has 3:21 over Primož Roglič, leaving UAE Team Emirates-XRG and the teams behind him with little incentive to control a strong breakaway all afternoon.

For the first time in this Vuelta, the attackers should have a genuine chance.

Key information

• Start: 13:11 CEST
• Estimated finish: 17:18 CEST
• Stage type: Medium mountains
• Stage length: 177.5km
• Elevation gain: 3,045m

Follow stage 6 live at Domestique with our live reporting.

Stage 6 begins beside the Mediterranean in Alcossebre before quickly turning inland towards the hills of Castellón.

The opening 30 kilometres through Alcalà de Xivert and Les Coves de Vinromà are relatively uncomplicated.

After that, the road starts to rise.

Puerto de la Serrat provides the first classified test, with 14km at an average of 3.8%. The gradients are rarely severe, but its early position makes it an obvious place for a strong breakaway to form.

Its summit comes after 44.6 kilometres. Almost immediately afterwards, the road begins rising again towards the Coll de la Bandereta.

At 4.6km and 6.7%, Bandereta is shorter but significantly steeper. If a large group is still fighting to get clear, this could be where the strongest climbers finally make the difference.

From there, the race passes through La Serra d'en Galceran, Benlloc and Vall d'Alba before gradually returning towards the Mediterranean coast.

Around Benicàssim, the stage enters its next important phase. With 57.4 kilometres remaining, the riders contest the intermediate sprint before heading straight onto the Alto del Desierto de las Palmas.

At 7.6km and 4.9%, this category 2 climb is unlikely to decide the stage on its own. What matters more is what follows.

After descending back towards Benicàssim, the route turns inland again for a second ascent towards the same ridge.

This time, the organisers have added something very different. The Puerto El Bartolo is the final climb of the day, measuring 9.4km at 7.1% and beginning with 30.1 kilometres remaining.

For the first 6.3 kilometres, the riders follow more familiar roads before turning onto a narrow gravel sector.

That is where the stage changes completely. Over 1.9km, the unpaved road averages 11.8%, with almost the entire section climbing at double digit gradients.

There is little opportunity to recover once the gravel ends. A brief descent is followed by one final steep ramp towards the summit of El Bartolo.

From there, the riders face a fast and technical descent towards Castelló before the road flattens out.

The final nine kilometres offer little climbing, which creates an interesting tactical problem. A lone rider who attacks on the steepest section of El Bartolo may still need enough power to defend the advantage on the flat roads below.

• Puerto de la Serratella | 2nd category | 14km at 3.8% | summit after 44.6km
• Coll de la Bandereta | 3rd category | 4.6km at 6.7% | summit after 66.1km
• Intermediate sprint | around 57km to go
• Alto del Desierto de las Palmas | 2nd category | 7.6km at 4.9% | summit at 49km to go
• Puerto El Bartolo | 1st category | 9.4km at 7.1% | summit at 20.7km to go

As mentioned, this should be the first real opportunity for the breakaway to make it all the way to the finish.

Of all the contenders, Thibau Nys perhaps has the most interesting profile for this stage.

A gravel wall at nearly 12%, then a technical descent and a flat run into Castelló, is about as close to his terrain as this Vuelta route gets.

Nys has the explosiveness to make the difference on the steepest section of El Bartolo, but also enough speed to win from a small group if several riders arrive together.

There is also very little tying him to another job. Lidl-Trek have Mattias Skjelmose sitting sixth overall and Mads Pedersen for the sprint opportunities. On a day when neither needs to be the team's only focus, Nys should have the freedom to attack.

The unknown is his condition. The 23-year-old had completed only seven race days this season before the Vuelta after a disrupted year and this stage should provide the first real answer.

Lorenzo Fortunato has already shown his intentions at this Vuelta. The Italian made it from the peloton to the front on stage 3 before the hailstorm brought the race to a halt. XDS Astana have no rider demanding major GC resources, which gives Fortunato plenty of freedom to try again.

El Bartolo is certainly hard enough for him. The question is whether the flat kilometres after the descent work against him if he cannot get clear on the climb.

Iván Romeo is another obvious candidate. The Spanish time trial champion has the engine for the long battle to establish a break and the power needed once the road flattens out towards Castelló.

Movistar have also shown throughout the opening days that they are prepared to race aggressively.

With Enric Mas third overall, putting Romeo in the break gives the team both a stage option and a useful tactical card further up the road when the GC men decide to race.

Andreas Leknessund fits almost everything about this stage. Uno-X Mobility have approached the opening week with aggression, with Magnus Cort's combativity prize on stage 3 coming from the same instinct.

Leknessund is strong enough uphill to survive the selection on El Bartolo and, crucially, has the engine to keep driving once the race reaches the flatter roads towards Castelló.

That combination may be more valuable here than having the best acceleration on the steepest gradients.

Embret Svestad-Bårdseng also has room to move at Netcompany-Ineos. Oscar Onley is sixth overall, so the team still have responsibilities around the GC group, but sending Svestad-Bårdseng up the road would not seriously compromise that plan.

The Norwegian has the climbing ability for a stage with almost 3,000 metres of elevation and could benefit if the breakaway fight turns into a war of attrition.

Ramses Debruyne gives Alpecin-Premier Tech an option on a day that is far too difficult for Kaden Groves.

The Belgian is still only 23 but a stage like this offers the freedom to anticipate rather than wait for the established names to make their move.

Luke Tuckwell is another rider with the characteristics to get involved, although his freedom may depend on Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe's intentions.

He has already shown at the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes that he can go deep from a breakaway and still be competitive late in a hard stage.

Roglič remains second overall and the team may decide it needs every available rider around him on a finale where punctures, splits or crashes on the gravel could quickly complicate the GC picture.

Georg Steinhauser should have more freedom at EF Education-EasyPost.

Richard Carapaz remains their main GC card, but Steinhauser is exactly the sort of rider who can turn a difficult breakaway stage into an opportunity. The long climbs suit him and he should be comfortable if the race becomes a pure climbing contest on El Bartolo.

And then there is Tadej Pogačar.

His 3:21 advantage is the main reason to believe the breakaway survives. UAE Team Emirates XRG have very little reason to spend the entire afternoon chasing riders who pose no threat to the red jersey, while the teams behind Pogačar may be equally reluctant to do the work for him.

An obvious strategy would be to let the break build a significant advantage and save the GC battle for another day.

The problem is that Pogačar already showed in Andorra that obvious strategies do not always interest him.

If he decides this is a stage he wants to win, it is difficult to imagine anyone stopping him.