As it happened: Martinez takes red, Evenepoel loses ground to Jumbo-Visma on Vuelta a España stage 6

After Monday’s early summit finish in Andorra, the general classification contenders at this Vuelta a España face another test on stage 6, which finishes at the Observatorio Astrofísico de Javalambre atop the Pico del Buitre. The category 1 ascent features long stretches of 15% gradients, and it seems sure to provoke an even starker selection than Monday’s finale at Arinsal.

Alasdair Fotheringham is on site at the Vuelta, and he was also on the scene for the Javalambre's previous appearance in the race in 2019, when Angel Madrazo won the stage and then followed up with a press conference for the ages. "He talked non-stop for the best part of half an hour in his press conference, and when he finally ended his conversation, he was treated to a rare round of applause by the journalists present," Alasdair writes. Read the full preview here.

Remco Evenepoel carries the red jersey of race leader into today's stage. The Belgian has made no secret of his desire to rid himself of the overall lead to a willing escapee at some point this week, but he is also looking to take every available opportunity to put time into men like Jonas Vingegaard and Primoz Roglic. Yesterday, Evenepoel added six seconds to his lead by cannily picking up the intermediate sprint in the finale.

General classification after stage 5

1 Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Soudal-QuickStep 17:12:29

2 Enric Mas (Spa) Movistar 0:00:11

3 Lenny Martinez (Fra) Groupama-FDJ 0:00:17

4 Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Jumbo-Visma 0:00:37

5 Aleksandr Vlasov Bora-Hansgrohe 0:00:39

6 Cian Uijtdebroeks (Bel) Bora-Hansgrohe

7 Primoz Roglic (Slo) Jumbo-Visma 0:00:43

8 Juan Ayuso (Spa) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:44

9 Marc Soler (Spa) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:48

10 João Almeida (Por) UAE Team Emirates

Today’s start is in La Vall d'Uixó, in the province of Castelló, and the 183km route winds towards Aragon by way of some rugged terrain, including the category 3 climbs of the Puerto de Arenillas and the Alto Fuente de Rubielos. The grand finale comes with the category 1 haul up the Javalambre observatory, at an altitude of 1956m. The final climb is 10.9km long at an average of 8%.

The peloton rolls out from the start at 12.20 CET, with the race scheduled to hit kilometre zero and the start proper at 12.34.

A reminder of yesterday's result - Kaden Groves outkicked Filippo Ganna to take the sprint win on stage 5, his second win in a row at La Vuelta a España.

And the riders are off! The neutralised start will lead into the official stage start in 7km at 12.34 CEST.

La Vuelta a España's official social media account has shared the first pedal strokes from La Vall d'Uixó.

The race has now officially started, with riders clearing the 7km neutralised section.
The riders are straight onto a small uncategorised ascent before taking on the category-3 Puerto de Arenillas, so we'll expect to see breaks forming in the coming kilometres.

The peloton has so far taken on a lackadaisical 20kmh pace through the neutralised section, but the first attack has come within a few kilometres of the flag drop, and breakaway protagonist Thomas De Gendt (Lotto-Dstny) has attacked alongside Diego Andrés Camargo from EF Education-Easypost.

The two riders have pulled 20 seconds clear of the peloton, with Wout Poels (Bahrain-Victorious) setting off in pursuit.

174km to go

Rui Costa (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty) sets off in pursuit of De Gendt and Camargo with just under 10km of the stage underway.

The breakaway has extended its lead to around 30 seconds.

Poels has joined the two riders, and holding onto an advantage of 25 seconds, as they approach the foothills of Puerto de Arenillas, maybe this move could stick.

Behind them, Javier Romo Oliver (Astana-Qazaqstan) led a bridging effort but couldn't move clear of the peloton.  

-165km

Break:

Wout Poels (Bahrain Victorious), Rui Costa (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty), Diego Andres Camargo (EF Education-EasyPost) and Thomas De Gendt (Lotto-Dstny)

Peloton at 0:22

Jetse Bol (Burgos-BH), second at Javalambre in 2019, makes an attempt to bridge up to the three escapees, but the Dutchman is recaptured by the peloton.

De Gendt and Poels have been caught by the bunch, while Rui Costa is now just 9 seconds clear in the company of Diego Andres Camargo (EF Education-EasyPost)

-153km

The escapees are swept up by the peloton, which has now split in two on a fast, downhill section. One imagines it will all come back together, but it's certainly been a rapid and stressful start to proceedings and that will surely have an impact when the climbing begins.

-150km

That split has left a group of 27 riders at the head of the race with a lead of 20 seconds or so over the peloton. It's all a bit frantic at this point and the bunch will be reluctant to let that move forge clear until all the names on board have been established.

Remco Evenepoel's Soudal-QuickStep guard duly come to the front and bring that group of 27 riders back. The Belgian is keen to farm out his red jersey but a group of that size was too dangerous to allow to sally clear.

-144km

The race will surely ignire all over again once the bunch hits the foot of the day's first climb, the Puerto de Arenillas (5.8km at 4.7%), just a kilometre or so away. Indeed, Amanuel Gehbreigzabhier (Lidl-Trek) tries to escape before the climb begins but he doesn't get very far before he's brought back.

 Jan Tratnik (Jumbo-Visma) attacks on the lower slopes of the climb in the company of Andreas Kron (Lotto-Dstny). It's interesting to see Jumbo-Visma send the Slovenian up the road at this point.

-136km

Not surprisingly, the move is shut down. It's a brisk, brisk pace on the climb of Puerto de Arenillas.

Tratnik goes again further up the climb, however, and this time the Slovenian is in a bigger group with Emanuel Buchmann (Bora-Hansgrohe), Andreas Kron (Lotto Dstny), Oier Lazkano (Movistar), Ruben Fernandez (Cofidis), Max Poole (DSM-Firmenich), Cristian Rodriguez (Arkéa Samsic), Fabien Doubey (Total Energies) and Jefferson Cepeda (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA). There are plenty more riders still trying to get across.

Jesus Herrada (Cofidis) led Oier Lazkano (Cofidis) and Nicolas Prodhomme (AG2R Citroën) over the top of the Puerto de Arenillas with a small lead over the chasing group.

-124km

The escapees, including Tratnik, are caught over the other side of the climb, and this remains a fraught, frantic opening phase of the race.

Evenepoel has lost a teammate, with Soudal-QuickStep reporting that Andrea Bagioli has abandoned the Vuelta. Lorenzo Milesi (DSM), a faller earlier on the stage, has also been forced to abandon. Milesi was the first maillot rojo of this race on Saturday evening, which already feels a lifetime ago.

The drama continues as Jay Vine (UAE Team Emirates) crashes in the peloton, but it appears that the Australian will remain in the race.

-120km

All the while, the attacking is incessant. Oier Lazkano (Movistar), Paul Ourselin (Total Energies) and Javier Romo (Astana Qazaqstan) attack and they are joined by Sylvain Moniquet (Lotto-Dstny), Jesus Herrada (Cofidis), Jefferson Cepeda (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA) to form a six-man group at the front. 

-115km

Live television images don't start until 14.30 CET and information via the race organisation has been patchy at best, but there is now a group of nine riders at the head of the race.

The leaders are: Sylvain Moniquet (Lotto-Dstny), Jesus Herrada (Cofidis), Jefferson Cepeda (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), Oier Lazkano (Movistar), Paul Ourselin (Total Energies), Javier Romo (Astana Qazaqstan), Juan Pedro Lopez (Lidl-Trek), Lennert Van Eetvelt (Lotto-Dstny) and Cristian Rodriguez (Arkéa-Samsic)

This group has 15 seconds on a group of 33 that includes Lenny Martinez (Groupama-FDJ), Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates) and Sepp Kuss (Jumbo-Visma).

The main peloton, including red jersey Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep), Jonas Vingegaard and Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) is at 2:18.

-111km

The front two groups merge, leaving - I think - 42 riders at the head of the race, with a lead of 4:23 over a peloton that includes Evenepoel, Roglic and Vingegaard. If the information provided by the race organisation is to be believed, Lenny Martinez is the virtual maillot rojo, while Sepp Kuss, Marc Soler, Mikel Landa and Hugh Carthy are the dangermen present in this front group.

-105km

Break:

Mattia Cattaneo, Louis Vervaeke (Soudal-QuickStep), Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates), Sepp Kuss, Dylan van Baarle (Jumbo-Visma), Jonathan Castroviejo (Ineos Grenadiers), Santiago Buitrago, Mikel Landa, Wout Poels, Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain Victorious), Rudy Molard, Lenny Martinez, Michael Storer (Groupama-FDJ), Emanuel Buchmann, Lennard Kämna (Bora-Hansgrohe), Sylvain Moniquet, Andreas Kron, Lennert Van Eetvelt (Lotto-Dstny), Hugh Carthy (EF Education-EasyPost), Dorian Godon, Nicolas Prodhomme (AG2R Citroën), Felix Engelhardt, Matteo Sobrero (Jayco-Alula), Rui Costa (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty), Jesus Herrada, Rubern Fernandez, Remy Rochas (Cofidis), Romain Bardet, Max Poole (DSM), Cristian Rodriguez (Arkéa Samsic), Stef Cras, Thomas Bonnet, Fabien Doubey, Paul Ourselin (TotalEnergies), David De La Cruz, Javier Romo (Astana-Qazaqstan), Fernando Barcelo, Jefferson Cepeda (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), Einer Rubio (Movistar).

Peloton at 4:20

Another abandon to report. Jay Vine has withdrawn from the Vuelta following his crash earlier in the stage.

-101km

Marc Soler attacks alone from the front group on the day's second climb, the Alto Fuente de Rubielos (6.1km at 6.2%).

Soler's attack has splintered this unwieldy front group. 

Andrea Bagioli's abandon would appear to bear out the rumour that a number of Soudal-QuickStep riders had been stricken by illness in recent days, but the tough finale of this stage will shed more light on their general condition.

Juan Pedro Lopez (Lidl-Trek) has bridged up to Soler, leaving two riders at the front with the rest of the break splintered along the hillside. The peloton, meanwhile, is now reportedly six minutes back.

-90km

Soler led over the climb but the front group has swelled again to 11 riders over the other side, as he is joined by Lopez, Rubio, Vervaeke, Landa, Buchmann, Kron, Herrada, De La Cruz, Poole and Cepeda. They have 30 seconds on the rest of the break and 6 minutes on the peloton. 

-80km

Break:

Louis Vervaeke (Soudal-QuickStep), Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates), Sepp Kuss, Jan Tratnik, Attila Valter, Dylan van Baarle (Jumbo-Visma), Santiago Buitrago, Mikel Landa, Wout Poels (Bahrain Victorious), Emanuel Buchmann, Lennard Kämna (Bora-Hansgrohe), Andreas Kron (Lotto-Dstny), Hugh Carthy (EF Education-EasyPost), Oier Lazkano, Einer Rubio (Movistar), Jesus Herrada, Ruben Fernandez, Remy Rochas (Cofidis), Romain Bardet, Max Poole (DSM), Cristian Rodriguez (Arkéa Samsic), Thomas Bonnet, Fabien Doubey, Paul Ourselin (TotalEnergies), David De La Cruz (Astana-Qazaqstan), Jefferson Cepeda (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), Lenny Martinez (Groupama-FDJ)

Chasers at 0:15

Peloton at 6:38

This huge breakaway group keeps breaking up and reforming on this rugged terrain. The one constant is that Jumbo-Visma seem keen to keep driving on, with Van Baarle leading the way on behalf of Kuss. Tratnik and Valter are also up here for the Dutch squad.

The front group continues to fragment and reform. Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates), Jan Tratnik, Dylan van Baarle, Attila Valter (Jumbo-Visma), Michael Storer (Groupama-FDJ), Juan Pedro Lopez (Lidl-Trek), Hugh Carthy (EF Education-EasyPost) and Paul Ourselin (TotalEnergies) are the latest to ghost off the front. Soudal-QuickStep and Movistar lead the peloton, 6:25 down. 

Ineos have also joined Movistar and Soudal-QuickStep in policing the head of the peloton. Jumbo-Visma's four riders in the front group are an obvious concern, even if Roglic and Kuss are not among them.

-70km

The front group swells in size once again, with Jan Tratnik setting the pace for Jumbo-Visma. The men aboard the group are: Lenny Martinez, Rudy Molard, Michael Storer (Groupama-FDJ), Mattia Cattaneo, Louis Vervaeke (Soudal-QuickStep), Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates), Sepp Kuss, Jan Tratnik, Attila Valter, Dylan van Baarle (Jumbo-Visma), Santiago Buitrago, Mikel Landa, Wout Poels (Bahrain Victorious), Emanuel Buchmann, Lennard Kämna (Bora-Hansgrohe), Andreas Kron, Sylvain Moniquet, Lennert Van Eetvelt (Lotto-Dstny), Hugh Carthy (EF Education-EasyPost), Oier Lazkano, Einer Rubio (Movistar), Jesus Herrada, Ruben Fernandez, Remy Rochas (Cofidis), Romain Bardet, Max Poole (DSM), Dorian Godon, Nicolas Prodhomme (AG2R Citroën), Cristian Rodriguez (Arkéa Samsic), Thomas Bonnet, Fabien Doubey, Paul Ourselin (TotalEnergies), David De La Cruz (Astana-Qazaqstan), Jefferson Cepeda (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), Rui Costa (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty), Jonathan Castroviejo (Ineos). They have a lead of 5:54 over the peloton.

Lenny Martinez began the day 17 seconds off Evenepoel's red jersey and the French youngster is the virtual race leader. Soler (at 48 seconds), Kuss (at 55 seconds) and Poels (at 1:15) are also GC threats here. 

Dylan van Baarle and Jan Tratnik continue to drive the pace at the head of this break, six minutes clear of a peloton that is still being led by Ineos, Movistar and Soudal-QuickStep. Evenepoel was keen for a break to go clear and take the red jersey off his hands, but he surely wouldn't have wanted four Jumbo-Visma riders, including Sepp Kuss, going up the road in a group of this size on a day like this. 

The only classified climb left on the agenda today is that category 1 haul to the finish, but the entire stage plays out on heavy, rolling roads, and it will not be at all easy for the peloton to reel in a break of this strength.

-63km

Rudy Molard is also contributing generously to the break's effort in a bid to help his teammate Martinez into the maillot rojo.

A reminder that Jay Vine was among the abandons earlier today after he crashed during the frantic opening part of the stage.

-58km

Break:

Lenny Martinez, Rudy Molard, Michael Storer (Groupama-FDJ), Mattia Cattaneo, Louis Vervaeke (Soudal-QuickStep), Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates), Sepp Kuss, Jan Tratnik, Attila Valter, Dylan van Baarle (Jumbo-Visma), Santiago Buitrago, Mikel Landa, Wout Poels (Bahrain Victorious), Emanuel Buchmann, Lennard Kämna (Bora-Hansgrohe), Andreas Kron, Sylvain Moniquet, Lennert Van Eetvelt (Lotto-Dstny), Hugh Carthy (EF Education-EasyPost), Oier Lazkano, Einer Rubio (Movistar), Jesus Herrada, Ruben Fernandez, Remy Rochas (Cofidis), Romain Bardet, Max Poole (DSM), Dorian Godon, Nicolas Prodhomme (AG2R Citroën), Cristian Rodriguez (Arkéa Samsic), Thomas Bonnet, Fabien Doubey, Paul Ourselin (TotalEnergies), David De La Cruz (Astana-Qazaqstan), Jefferson Cepeda (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), Rui Costa (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty)

Peloton at 6:15

Primoz Roglic and Jonas Vingegaard are sitting very comfortably in the peloton behind the cohort of Soudal-QuickStep, Ineos and Movistar riders who are working to pare down the dangerous break's lead. It's not quite L'Aquila at the 2010 Giro or Formigal at the 2016 Vuelta, but it cannot have been in the QuickStep plan to allow a group of this size and strength build an advantage like this on a day like this...

-51km

After threatening to spiral out of control, the gap has stabilised over the last twenty miles or so, but the escapees still have six minutes or so.

-47.5km

Van Baarle and Molard are the men driving the break, but the rest of the escapees seem happy to sit on Jumbo and Groupama for now. Meanwhile, the cohesion between Ineos, QuickStep and Movistar in the bunch means the gap is starting to contract a little, and it now stands at 5:12.

-45km

The coalition between QuickStep, Ineos and Movistar is bearing fruit, and the gap drops inside five minutes.

Break:

Lenny Martinez, Rudy Molard, Michael Storer (Groupama-FDJ), Mattia Cattaneo, Louis Vervaeke (Soudal-QuickStep), Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates), Sepp Kuss, Jan Tratnik, Attila Valter, Dylan van Baarle (Jumbo-Visma), Santiago Buitrago, Mikel Landa, Wout Poels (Bahrain Victorious), Emanuel Buchmann, Lennard Kämna (Bora-Hansgrohe), Andreas Kron, Sylvain Moniquet, Lennert Van Eetvelt (Lotto-Dstny), Hugh Carthy (EF Education-EasyPost), Oier Lazkano, Einer Rubio (Movistar), Jesus Herrada, Ruben Fernandez, Remy Rochas (Cofidis), Romain Bardet, Max Poole (DSM), Dorian Godon, Nicolas Prodhomme (AG2R Citroën), Cristian Rodriguez (Arkéa Samsic), Thomas Bonnet, Fabien Doubey, Paul Ourselin (TotalEnergies), David De La Cruz (Astana-Qazaqstan), Jefferson Cepeda (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), Rui Costa (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty)

Peloton at 4:12

-40km

The chase continues to pick up pace, and the break's lead drops a little further, to just north of four minutes. A situation that risked spiralling out of control for Evenepoel is starting to look a little rosier with a shade under 30km to the foot of the finishing climb.

-37km

Van Baarle has had to shoulder the bulk of the pace-making in the break over the past half hour or so, and while the Dutchman is one of the great engines of the WorldTour peloton, he is facing at least six riders swapping turns in the peloton. As a consequence, the break's lead has dropped to 3:45.

Lenny Martinez remains on course to inherit the red jersey, even if Soler and Kuss will provide stiff opposition. Men like Poels, Landa and Bardet, meanwhile, will be eyeing stage victory on Javalhambre.

-33km

Break:

Lenny Martinez, Rudy Molard, Michael Storer (Groupama-FDJ), Mattia Cattaneo, Louis Vervaeke (Soudal-QuickStep), Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates), Sepp Kuss, Jan Tratnik, Attila Valter, Dylan van Baarle (Jumbo-Visma), Santiago Buitrago, Mikel Landa, Wout Poels (Bahrain Victorious), Emanuel Buchmann, Lennard Kämna (Bora-Hansgrohe), Andreas Kron, Sylvain Moniquet, Lennert Van Eetvelt (Lotto-Dstny), Hugh Carthy (EF Education-EasyPost), Oier Lazkano, Einer Rubio (Movistar), Jesus Herrada, Ruben Fernandez, Remy Rochas (Cofidis), Romain Bardet, Max Poole (DSM), Dorian Godon, Nicolas Prodhomme (AG2R Citroën), Cristian Rodriguez (Arkéa Samsic), Thomas Bonnet, Fabien Doubey, Paul Ourselin (TotalEnergies), David De La Cruz (Astana-Qazaqstan), Jefferson Cepeda (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), Rui Costa (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty)

Peloton at 3:37

Tratnik comes to the front of the break now to breathe a bit of momentum into their efforts. Their gap, which was once north of 6 minutes, is now down to 3:33 as Ineos, Soudal-QuickStep and Movistar continue to drive the pace behind.

-28km

The road is dragging upwards towards the base of the final climb and the combination of the gradient and speed proves too much for Kaden Groves and a cohort of his Alpecin-Deceuninck teammates, who sit up to spare themselves for the rigours ahead.

Out in front, meanwhile, Cofidis have joined Tratnik and Van Baarle in working in the break. The French squad has three riders up here and they want to give themselves a fighting chance of winning the stage by keeping this 3:30 gap to the foot of the climb.

Filippo Ganna puts in a mammoth turn at the head of the bunch. The Italian was an impressive second in the bunch sprint yesterday and he'll be eyeing next Tuesday's time trial, but right now, he has a shift to do on behalf of Geraint Thomas.

-25km

Break:

Lenny Martinez, Rudy Molard, Michael Storer (Groupama-FDJ), Mattia Cattaneo, Louis Vervaeke (Soudal-QuickStep), Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates), Sepp Kuss, Jan Tratnik, Attila Valter, Dylan van Baarle (Jumbo-Visma), Santiago Buitrago, Mikel Landa, Wout Poels (Bahrain Victorious), Emanuel Buchmann, Lennard Kämna (Bora-Hansgrohe), Andreas Kron, Sylvain Moniquet, Lennert Van Eetvelt (Lotto-Dstny), Hugh Carthy (EF Education-EasyPost), Oier Lazkano, Einer Rubio (Movistar), Jesus Herrada, Ruben Fernandez, Remy Rochas (Cofidis), Romain Bardet, Max Poole (DSM), Dorian Godon, Nicolas Prodhomme (AG2R Citroën), Cristian Rodriguez (Arkéa Samsic), Thomas Bonnet, Fabien Doubey, Paul Ourselin (TotalEnergies), David De La Cruz (Astana-Qazaqstan), Jefferson Cepeda (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), Rui Costa (Intermarché-Circus-Wanty)

Peloton at 3:33

-23km

The break is on the climb towards the intermediate sprint at Torrijas with 21.5km to go. The road descends from there towards the base of the category 1 haul to the finish.

After some relief from Astana's Javier Romo, Tratnik resumes the pace-making for Jumbo-Visma at the head of the break.

-21.5km

Oier Lazkano (Movistar) accelerates for the bonus seconds, but it's Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates) who picks up the maximum six seconds. The Catalan has a shot at taking the red jersey today if he can put a bit of time into Lenny Martinez on the climb...

-20km

That sprint has fractured the unity of the break. Andreas Kron (Lotto-Dstny) attacks on the sweeping descent that leads towards the base of the climb.

The peloton, meanwhile, approaches the intermediate sprint 3:15 down on the escapees.

-17km

Valter and Tratnik have returned to the front of the break and they are driving the sizeable move towards the base of the climb.

-12km

The final climb is a brute. Alasdair Fotheringham has the full story here.

-11.5km

The break hits the base of the climb to Javalambre with a lead of 3:44. That should be enough to ensure the stage winner comes from this move and that should ensure a new red jersey, too - but we can expect fireworks from Evenepoel, Vingegaard et al too. A bit of everything awaits, in other words.

-10km

Tratnik sets a brisk pace on the gentler, lower slopes of the climb before he swings off a kilometre or so into the ascent. Michael Storer takes over for Groupama-FDJ and the virtual red jersey Lenny Martinez.

Storer's pace-making helps the break stretch its gap out to 3:55 again, and his efforts have also seen a number of riders shelled out the back of this group.

-9km

Movistar, meanwhile, set the tempo in a lined-out peloton at the base of the climb. Evenepoel sits comfortably in third wheel. One imagines the Belgian will call back his teammates Vervaeke and Cattaneo from the break on this lower portion of the climb.

-8.5km

Storer continues to drive the pace in the break, but the steeper gradients ahead will surely see the move break up in earnest.

-8km

The front group starts to break up a little as the gradient bites. Kuss and Carthy both look comfortable tucked near the head of this break, which is still led by Storer on behalf of Martinez.

The red jersey group is down to 20 riders or so. Evenepoel, Vingegaard, Roglic, Enric Mas, Juan Ayuso, Geraint Thomas, Aleksandr Vlasov and Joao Almeida are all safely aboard on these lower slopes. 

Cattaneo and Vervaeke have sat up from this front group to drop back to help Evenepoel in the red jersey group.

-7km

Storer's efforts prove too much for Kamna, who is surprisingly distpatched out the back of this front group. Bardet, Buchmann, Lenny Martinez, Landa, Poels, Carthy, Soler and Kuss are all still in contact. This grouo is 3:36 clear of the Soudal-QuickStep-led red jersey group. 

-5.5km

Vervaeke sets a brisk pace in the red jersey group for Evenepoel, 3:30 down on the break, where Storer is still setting the pace. The gradient bites in earnest with 5km to go, and Evenepoel might well have to respond in person to any accelerations that come there.

-5km

Storer keeps riding at the front of the break, with Bardet, Landa, Kuss, Carthy, Poels, Buitrago, Soler, De La Cruz and the virtual red jersey Lenny Martinez all among the riders still in contention for the stage win. The red jersey group is at 3:27, with Vervaeke still setting the tempo.

-4km

Vervaeke continues to set a brisk pace in the red jersey group. Evenepoel sits in third wheel and looks comfortable, with Roglic and Vingegaard queued up on his wheel.

Out in front, meanwhile, Einer Rubio (Movistar) attacks alone and opens a small gap. His acceleration provokes a reaction from the break and Buchmann is distanced.

Rubio stretches out his lead. De la Cruz senses the danger and takes up the reins of pursuit. Bardet, Lenny Martinez and Landa are among the riders lined up on his wheel.

Rubio is alone at the head of the race with 23 seconds on a group of a dozen or so riders that includes Kuss, Martinez, Bardet, Buitrago, Soler and Landa. The red jersey group is at 3:22.

-3.5km

Romain Bardet and his compatriot Lenny Martinez counter-attack in pursuit of Rubio. Kuss waits a moment, assesses the lie of the land, and then accelerates across to Bardet and Martinez.

-3km

Break:

Einer Rubio (Movistar)

Chasers at 0:15

Romain Bardet (DSM), Sepp Kuss (Jumbo-Visma), Lenny Martinez (Groupama-FDJ)

Red jersey group at 3:17

Primoz Roglic attacks with intent from the red jersey group and the Slovenian immediately opens a gap...

The red jersey group has fragmented and Evenepoel is among those struggling...

Mas, Ayuso, Vingegaard and Vlasov are in a group chasing Roglic. Evenepoel is further down the mountain with Cattaneo, Almeida and Thomas, battling to limit his losses...

Roglic is picking off the remnants of the break. He has a handful of seconds in hand on Ayuso, Vingegaard, Mas and Vlasov, while Evenepoel is visibly struggling and shipping time... 

-2km

Out in front, meanwhile, Sepp Kuss has attacked alone, catching and passsing Rubio. Bardet  and Martinez form the second group on the road. Martinez is battling to save his (virtual) red jersey, but Kuss looks on course for the stage win and - perhaps - the overall lead.

Vingegaard and Mas have bridged up to Roglic. Attila Valter has dropped back from the break to help his leaders, and they have more than 30 seconds in hand on a suffering Evenepoel...

-1.5km

Break:

Sepp Kuss (Jumbo-Visma)

Chasers at 0:26

Lenny Martinez (Groupama-FDJ) and Romain Bardet (DSM)

Chasers at 2:47

Primoz Roglic, Jonas Vingegaard, Attila Valter (Jumbo-Visma), Enric Mas (Movistar)

Chaser at 3:25

Remco Evenepoel (Soudal-QuickStep)

-1km

Kuss enters the final kilometre with 30 seconds in hand on Martinez. The American will win the stage, and he needs 8 more seconds to take the red jersey too...

Valter swings off and now Roglic takes up the reins again with Roglic and Vingegaard on his wheel. Evenepoel looks to have picked up a bit of speed, but can he claw back some of this deficit in the final push? He's done it before at the Vuelta, after all...

Sepp Kuss is cruising to stage victory but he needs to push on to give himself a shot at taking possession of the red jersey.

Kuss breaks into a broad smile. The stage is his, but what about red?

Sepp Kuss (Jumbo-Visma) wins stage 6 of the Vuelta a España.

Lenny Martinez (Groupama-FDJ) kicks past Bardet in the finishing straight to take second on the stage, 28 seconds down. By my reckoning, he's done enough to take the red jersey. Romain Bardet (DSM) is third on the day.

Roglic and Vingegaard just ride away from Mas in the final kilometre almost without realising it. Not the first such exhibition we've seen from Jumbo-Visma in recent seasons. 

Ayuso has caught and passed a flagging Mas in the final kilometre. Evenepoel, meanwhile, has picked up a head of steam and caught Vlasov, but can he limit the damage inflicted by Roglic and Vingegaard?

Roglic leads Vingegaard over the line, 2:51 behind Kuss. Ayuso comes in a few seconds behind them.

Evenepoel climbs from the saddle and accelerates in the final metres. He closes to within sight of Mas and he crosses the line at 3:23, so he concedes just over half a minute to Roglic and Vingegaard. It could have been worse. It certainly looked like it was going to be much worse with 2.5km or so to go.

Result

1Sepp Kuss (USA) Jumbo-Visma 4:27:29

2 Lenny Martinez (Fra) Groupama-FDJ 0:00:26

3 Romain Bardet (Fra) DSM 0:00:31

4 Mikel Landa (Spa) Bahrain Victorious 0:00:46

5 Marc Soler (Spa) UAE Team Emirates

6 Wout Poels (Ned) Bahrain Victorious 0:01:03

7 Einer Rubio (Col) Movistar 0:01:05

8 Cristian Rodriguez (Spa) Arkéa-Samsic 0:01:12

9 Stef Cras (Bel) TotalEnergies

10 Jefferson Cepeda (Ecu) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:01:26

General classification

1 Lenny Martinez (Fra) Groupama-FDJ 21:40:35

2 Sepp Kuss (USA) Jumbo-Visma 0:00:08

3 Marc Soler (Spa) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:51

4 Wout Poels (Ned) Bahrain Victorious 0:01:41

5 Stef Cras (Bel) TotalEnergies 0:01:48

6 Mikel Landa (Spa) Bahrain Victorious 0:01:58

7 Jefferson Cepeda (Ecu) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 0:02:06

8 David de la Cruz (Spa) Astana-Qazaqstan 0:02:23

9 Remco Evenepoel (Bel) Soudal-QuickStep 0:02:47

10 Enric Mas (Spa) Movistar 0:02:50

11 Jonas Vingegaard (Den) Jumbo-Visma 0:02:52

12 Primoz Roglic (Slo) Jumbo-Visma 0:02:58

13 Hugh Carthy (GBr) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:03:03

14 Juan Ayuso (Spa) UAE Team Emirates 0:03:06

15 Cian Uijtdebroeks (Bel) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:03:08

Lenny Martinez wore white on behalf of Evenepoel today. Tomorrow he'll wear the red jersey by right. A fine ride by a young man with immense potential.

Sepp Kuss: “It was incredibly hard stage. We wanted to try to go in the breakaway just to test QuickStep and we knew it would be a hard day to control. That was the primary objective and we were in there with Dylan, Jan and Attila, and they rode super. I have to thank them a lot for the work they did. The whole day I felt super, super good, I was only thinking about when to go and when to try to make the difference. The whole climb I was just enjoying the environment we have in the Vuelta, it’s always a special race for me."

Asked if he was thinking about winning the race overall, Kuss said: “No, no. For me to win a stage is just incredible. We’ll see. I don’t know what I am in the general now. One day at a time. First, I just have to enjoy this.”

A day of a thousand stories has thrown up some fascinating trends in the GC battle. Kuss' position on GC means that Jumbo-Visma have a third card to play for final overall victory. There was also a clear show of strength from Roglic and Vingegaard, but Evenepoel still limited his losses sufficiently to stay just ahead of them in the overall standings. It could have been a whole lot worse. The momentum is clearly with Jumbo-Visma, but Evenepoel will hope to steady the ship in the coming days and then see what he can conjure up in the time trial at the start of next week.

Elsewhere, Ayuso wasn't quite on the level of the Jumbo duo, but he conceded just 7 seconds to them in the final reckoning. Like Evenepoel, he made a late, late charge. And so too, of course, did Lenny Martinez, who took hold of the red jersey with effort in the final kilometre.

Remco Evenepoel on his day: "Not bad. I was feeling ok, just couldn’t speed up when the others went. I just had to hold my own pace and in the end, it was 30 seconds slower than the fastest guys. I didn’t feel like I was really going all out, it was more of a controlled effort, but I just could not go over that limit. You just have some days like that. Today it was my turn with not having the best legs.

"I could actually speed up in the last 2k. It was a bit strange, just a bit of a bad moment. The race was really, really hard from the gun on, I think I just needed to find my own rhythm and kind of settle myself a little. The good thing is that I could speed up in the last 2k and I still had something left in the last 500m, so if this was a bad day, then it’s ok.

"I think I started to feel a bit heavy legs when the break was gone and we started to have a bit of an easy moment. Thats where I started to feel a bit more heavy legged, so let’s hope this was one of the worst days of the three weeks."

Primoz Roglic on Jumbo-Visma's successful day: "It was super good. I mean it’s the start of the mountains. For sure today I had a bit better legs. A long way to go, eh, but a good day, we will enjoy it. We won’t complain. It went well, we won the stage, we took time. More we cannot wish, eh."

Jonas Vingegaard's post-stage thoughts: "“I think it was a good stage, we did super well today. At the start the boys were amazing, we put pressure on QuickStep and it turned out perfectly for us today. I was quite ok, at least better than previous days. I’ve been suffering a bit in the start, so luckily I found the legs again. [Sepp Kuss] is an amazing guy and he deserves it. Is he in the red jersey as well? No? That’s a shame, he would have deserved it as well, but the stage win is also amazing.”

A full report, results and pictures from today's stage are available here.