Volta Ciclista a Catalunya 2022 – Stage 6 [FULL STAGE]

March 26, 2022

Volta Ciclista a Catalunya 2022 – Stage 6 – Salou – Cambrils : 168,6 km

The Volta Ciclista a Catalunya is the fourth oldest stage-race in the world. Falling in the heart of the Spring Classics period, the seven-day race offers those riders tired of cobblestones some sunnier solace and a chance to hone their form ahead of the first Grand Tour of the year. Created in 1911 by a Catalan journalist in an attempt to sell more copies of the sports newspaper, El Mundo Deportivo, the race received mixed support in its early days. Just 34 riders started the inaugural edition of the race, with only 22 of those going on to reach the finish in Barcelona. The race was then suspended during World War I before being revived in the 1920s by Unión Deportiva de Sants, a big-name sponsor from the footballing world. The Volta Ciclista a Catalunya follows a similar format year-on-year, with several stages in the high mountains of the Pyrenees and a tough individual time-trial before a chaotic final day around the suburbs of Barcelona.

Sergio Higuita (Bora-Hansgrohe) took the lead of the Volta a Catalunya on stage 6 after mounting an audacious two-man assault for 130km through the Prades mountains alongside Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers).

Carapaz took the stage win in Cambrils, just about outsprinting his breakaway companion at the line and moving up to second overall in the process. Former race leader João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) finished in the chase group at 48 seconds down to tumble to third place overall.

After a hectic uphill start to the day in bad weather, which saw no break group manage to get away, the race split up on the opening climb of the Col de les Llebres. There, the peloton dissolving into an elite GC group, while Higuita and Carapaz took their chance to attack on the hilly terrain following the descent.

The pair quickly built a minutes’ gap on the tough terrain that followed, while back in the chase UAE Team Emirates received little assistance from other teams. Their advantage maxed out at 3:30 at one point and heading into the final 50km it was still up at three minutes.

Help in the chase eventually came from Bahrain Victorious and Uno-X, though the combined efforts of the teams came too late to eat into the gap Higuita and Carapaz had built. Heading over the final climb of the Col de la Teixeta, they enjoyed a two-minute gap, one that scarcely changed on the downhill run back to the coast and the finish.

Heading into the final kilometre, Higuita and Carapaz had it in the bag, still a minute up on the peloton. There was no gentlemen’s agreement between the pair at the line, however, with Carapaz coming from the wheel to take the stage win by inches.

At the end of a momentous day for the general classification, Higuita leads Carapaz at the top of the shaken-up standings by 16 seconds, while Almeida follows in third at 52 seconds. Quintana is the last man within a minute of his compatriot in fourth at 1:08.

How it unfolded
In contrast to the first five days of the race, the sixth stage of the Volta a Catalunya started under a downpour in Salou, with 168.6 miserable kilometres awaiting the riders over mountainous terrain as they circled back to the coast and Cambrils.

Only three categorised climbs lay on the route – the first-category Coll de les Llebres after 41km, the Coll de Capafronts after 63km, and the second-category Coll de la Teixeta with 39km to go – but the total of 3,013 climbing metres showed there was far more to the stage than just the categorised climbs.

Attacks flew from the very start of the race as the road turned uphill almost immediately with the peloton heading inland to the Prades mountain range. Steven Kruijswijk (Jumbo-Visma), Casper Pedersen (Team DSM), and Simone Petilli (BikeExchange-Jayco) were the first group to get away.

The trio’s advantage was never extended more than 20 seconds, however, and they were brought back after 20 kilometres as Kruijswijk’s teammate Rohan Dennis countered. He, too, was brought back before the Col de les Llebres (7.2km at 6 per cent) started, with the peloton quickly fracturing as an elite group of GC riders and climbers emerged at the front.

The group numbered just over 20 riders, with men such as Nairo Quintana (Arkéa-Samsic), Sergio Higuita (Bora-Hansgrohe), Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers), Ben O’Connor (AG2R Citroën), Wout Poels (Bahrain Victorious), and race leader João Almeida (UAE Team Emirates) all up there.

Ineos Grenadiers’ young talent Luke Plapp led the way over the KOM, where he set up the move from Carapaz (17 seconds back) and Higuita (seven seconds down on Almeida). The duo had stolen a march on the main group, jumping away in a two-man attack with a mammoth 130km to go.

Down the descent and across the following uncategorised hills, the pair quickly built a gap with little response from behind, and at the Capafronts, 20km later, they were 1:30 up the road. Carapaz and Higuita picked up the three and two bonus seconds at the intermediate sprint before taking the descent to Ulldemolins.

By the time they reached the town, with 90 kilometres to run, the duo had an advantage of 2:30, which would grow by another minute as they went over the next uncategorised climb and downhill to the 70km to go mark.

UAE Team Emirates worked at the front of the chasing group with Rui Costa, George Bennett, Juan Ayuso, and Marc Soler leading the way. The team made little headway into the lead of Carapaz and Higuita, though. As the pair traversed three uncategorised hills between the 60 to 40km to go marks, their advantage still lay at three minutes with few willing to aid UAE in the chase.

At 40km to go, Uno-X took the front to work for their leader, seventh-placed neo-pro Tobias Halland Johanessen. The Norwegian team helped bring the gap down to two minutes within 10km, while Bahrain Victorious also contributed to the chase as the riders headed towards the final climb of the day at Teixeta.

That time gap held as the riders headed up the 5.6km, second-category climb, with a largely downhill run awaiting them for the final 28km. That gap closed to 1:25 on the initial descent, with 19-year-old Ayuso zipping off the front of the chasers as Bahrain led the group down.

Higuita took the three seconds at the day’s second and final intermediate sprint, giving each of the two leader five additional bonus seconds. Behind Ayuso, the rest of the chase was split as Poels, Quintana, and Carlos Rodríguez (Ineos Grenadiers) moved off the front with several other Bahrain riders, leaving Almeida chasing behind.

Things came back together further down, with Ayuso also dropping back to the Quintana group at 13km to go. Up front, Higuita and Carapaz still lay 1:20 away, with Almeida’s race lead certainly gone by then. BikeExchange-Jayco joined the main peloton’s chase for the final 10km, succeeding in bringing back the Quintana group 2km from the line but with the GC and stage win long gone.

In the final metres it was Higuita on the front of the lead pairing. The Colombian champion looked all set to claim the stage win in the two-man finish before Carapaz nipped around the outside in the final 25 metres to nip it by the slimmest of margins.

Results :
1 Richard Carapaz (Ecu) Ineos Grenadiers 04:09:19
2 Sergio Higuita Garcia (Col) Bora-Hansgrohe
3 Kaden Groves (Aus) BikeExchange-Jayco 00:00:48
4 Simone Velasco (Ita) Astana Qazaqstan Team
5 Quentin Pacher (Fra) Groupama-FDJ
6 Jan Bakelants (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
7 Fernando Barceló Aragon (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA
8 Dorian Godon (Fra) AG2R Citroen Team
9 Mattias Skjelmose (Den) Trek-Segafredo
10 Henri Vandenabeele (Bel) Team DSM
11 Francisco Galvan Fernandez (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma
12 Carlos Canal Blanco (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi
13 Sam Oomen (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
14 Carlos Rodriguez Cano (Spa) Ineos Grenadiers
15 Attila Valter (Hun) Groupama-FDJ
16 Raul Garcia Pierna (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma
17 Ben O’Connor (Aus) AG2R Citroen Team
18 Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier (Eri) Trek-Segafredo
19 João Almeida (Por) UAE Team Emirates
20 Juan Ayuso Pesquera (Spa) UAE Team Emirates
21 Wout Poels (Ned) Bahrain Victorious
22 Daryl Impey (RSA) Israel-Premier Tech
23 Jose Herrada (Spa) Cofidis
24 Nairo Quintana (Col) Arkea-Samsic
25 Torstein Træen (Nor) Uno-X Pro Cycling Team
26 Sébastien Reichenbach (Swi) Groupama-FDJ
27 Jai Hindley (Aus) Bora-Hansgrohe
28 Tobias Halland Johannessen (Nor) Uno-X Pro Cycling Team
29 Carlos Verona Quintanilla (Spa) Movistar Team
30 Jonas Gregaard (Den) Uno-X Pro Cycling Team
31 Anton Palzer (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe
32 Laurens Huys (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
33 Dylan Teuns (Bel) Bahrain Victorious
34 Giulio Ciccone (Ita) Trek-Segafredo
35 Joe Dombrowski (USA) Astana Qazaqstan Team
36 Lukasz Owsian (Pol) Arkea-Samsic
37 Hermann Pernsteiner (Aut) Bahrain Victorious
38 Javier Romo Oliver (Spa) Astana Qazaqstan Team
39 Robert Gesink (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
40 Jan Hirt (Cze) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
41 Callum Scotson (Aus) BikeExchange-Jayco
42 Michael Storer (Aus) Groupama-FDJ
DNF Luke Plapp (Aus) Ineos Grenadiers
DNS David Dekker (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
DNS Michael Woods (Can) Israel-Premier Tech
DNS Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team
DNS Valerio Conti (Ita) Astana Qazaqstan Team
DNS Odd Christian Eiking (Nor) EF Education-EasyPost
DNS Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-EasyPost
DNS Mark Donovan (GBr) Team DSM
DNS Urko Berrade Fernandez (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma

General Classification after Stage 6 :
1 Sergio Higuita Garcia (Col) Bora-Hansgrohe 26:35:24
2 Richard Carapaz (Ecu) Ineos Grenadiers 00:00:16
3 João Almeida (Por) UAE Team Emirates 00:00:52
4 Nairo Quintana (Col) Arkea-Samsic 00:00:53
5 Juan Ayuso Pesquera (Spa) UAE Team Emirates 00:01:08
6 Wout Poels (Ned) Bahrain Victorious 00:01:10
7 Ben O’Connor (Aus) AG2R Citroen Team
8 Tobias Halland Johannessen (Nor) Uno-X Pro Cycling Team 00:01:13
9 Guillaume Martin (Fra) Cofidis 00:01:16
10 Torstein Træen (Nor) Uno-X Pro Cycling Team 00:01:27
11 Jai Hindley (Aus) Bora-Hansgrohe 00:01:52
12 Carlos Rodriguez Cano (Spa) Ineos Grenadiers
13 Sam Oomen (Ned) Jumbo-Visma 00:01:55
14 Carlos Verona Quintanilla (Spa) Movistar Team 00:01:57
15 Dylan Teuns (Bel) Bahrain Victorious 00:02:05
16 Mattias Skjelmose (Den) Trek-Segafredo 00:02:38
17 Sébastien Reichenbach (Swi) Groupama-FDJ 00:02:50
18 Hermann Pernsteiner (Aut) Bahrain Victorious 00:04:17
19 Giulio Ciccone (Ita) Trek-Segafredo 00:04:50
20 Steven Kruijswijk (Ned) Jumbo-Visma 00:05:25
21 Javier Romo Oliver (Spa) Astana Qazaqstan Team 00:06:28
22 Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier (Eri) Trek-Segafredo 00:06:30
23 Daniel Navarro Garcia (Spa) Burgos-BH 00:07:05
24 Jan Bakelants (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux 00:07:10
25 Jonas Gregaard (Den) Uno-X Pro Cycling Team 00:09:30
26 Quentin Pacher (Fra) Groupama-FDJ 00:09:34
27 Anton Palzer (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe 00:12:03
28 Hugh Carthy (GBr) EF Education-EasyPost 00:15:01
29 Jesus Herrada (Spa) Cofidis 00:15:12
30 Henri Vandenabeele (Bel) Team DSM 00:16:14
31 Laurens Huys (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux 00:16:59
32 Damien Howson (Aus) BikeExchange-Jayco 00:17:17
33 Jose Herrada (Spa) Cofidis 00:17:22
34 Attila Valter (Hun) Groupama-FDJ 00:17:41
35 Joe Dombrowski (USA) Astana Qazaqstan Team 00:18:12
36 Sylvain Moniquet (Bel) Lotto Soudal 00:20:22
37 Simone Petilli (Ita) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux 00:20:46
38 Lukasz Owsian (Pol) Arkea-Samsic 00:20:56
39 George Bennett (NZl) UAE Team Emirates 00:24:38
40 Jonathan Castroviejo Nicolas (Spa) Ineos Grenadiers 00:25:10
41 Esteban Chaves Rubio (Col) EF Education-EasyPost 00:25:12
42 Simone Velasco (Ita) Astana Qazaqstan Team 00:25:17
43 Santiago Buitrago Sanchez (Col) Bahrain Victorious 00:25:19
44 Sebastian Henao Gomez (Col) Astana Qazaqstan Team 00:25:38
45 Louis Meintjes (RSA) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux 00:26:01
46 Clément Berthet (Fra) AG2R Citroen Team 00:26:02
47 Ivan Ramiro Sosa Cuervo (Col) Movistar Team 00:26:05
48 Carlos Canal Blanco (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 00:26:29
49 Fernando Barceló Aragon (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 00:26:57
50 Robert Gesink (Ned) Jumbo-Visma 00:27:16
51 Simon Clarke (Aus) Israel-Premier Tech 00:28:40
52 Michael Storer (Aus) Groupama-FDJ 00:29:28
53 Rohan Dennis (Aus) Jumbo-Visma 00:31:32
54 Daryl Impey (RSA) Israel-Premier Tech 00:31:38
55 Merhawi Kudus Ghebremedhin (Eri) EF Education-EasyPost 00:32:55
56 Gotzon Martin Sanz (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 00:33:12
57 Callum Scotson (Aus) BikeExchange-Jayco 00:33:38
58 Mikaël Cherel (Fra) AG2R Citroen Team 00:37:18
59 Francisco Galvan Fernandez (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma 00:37:33
60 Jetse Bol (Ned) Burgos-BH 00:38:29
61 Juan Pedro Lopez Perez (Spa) Trek-Segafredo 00:38:30
62 Vadim Pronskiy (Kaz) Astana Qazaqstan Team 00:38:36
63 Larry Warbasse (USA) AG2R Citroen Team 00:39:15
64 Diego Camargo Pineda (Col) EF Education-EasyPost 00:39:21
65 Andrea Bagioli (Ita) Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team 00:39:48
66 Marc Soler (Spa) UAE Team Emirates 00:40:04
67 Winner Anacona (Col) Arkea-Samsic 00:40:27
68 Ben Zwiehoff (Ger) Bora-Hansgrohe 00:40:48
69 Eduard Prades Reverter (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 00:41:48
70 Jan Hirt (Cze) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux 00:42:23
71 Matteo Badilatti (Swi) Groupama-FDJ 00:42:45
72 Jonathan Caicedo (Ecu) EF Education-EasyPost 00:42:52
73 Louis Vervaeke (Bel) Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team 00:43:58
74 Dorian Godon (Fra) AG2R Citroen Team 00:44:21
75 Rui Costa (Por) UAE Team Emirates 00:47:27
76 Joel Nicolau Beltran (Spa) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 00:47:30
77 Rudy Molard (Fra) Groupama-FDJ 00:48:30
78 Elie Gesbert (Fra) Arkea-Samsic
79 Luis Angel Mate Mardones (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 00:49:46
80 Dries Devenyns (Bel) Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team 00:54:07
81 Raul Garcia Pierna (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma 00:54:45
82 Jhojan Garcia Susa (Col) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 00:56:42
83 Kaden Groves (Aus) BikeExchange-Jayco 00:56:44
84 Héctor Carretero (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma 00:57:57
85 Mads Würtz Schmidt (Den) Israel-Premier Tech 00:58:26
86 William Barta (USA) Movistar Team 00:59:16
87 Roger Adria Oliveras (Spa) Equipo Kern Pharma 00:59:37
88 Antwan Tolhoek (Ned) Trek-Segafredo 01:00:43
89 Jonas Iversby Hvideberg (Nor) Team DSM 01:01:29
90 Christopher Juul-Jensen (Den) BikeExchange-Jayco 01:02:00
91 Casper Pedersen (Den) Team DSM 01:03:37
92 Jaakko Hänninen (Fin) AG2R Citroen Team 01:05:12
93 Joan Bou Company (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 01:06:17
94 Unai Cuadrado Ruiz De Gauna (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 01:07:36
95 Pierre-Luc Périchon (Fra) Cofidis 01:08:01
96 Antonio Jesus Soto Guirao (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 01:08:37
97 Hugo Hofstetter (Fra) Arkea-Samsic 01:10:27
98 Oier Lazkano Lopez (Spa) Movistar Team 01:11:26
99 Ander Okamika Bengoetxea (Spa) Burgos-BH 01:11:43
100 Alex Molenaar (Ned) Burgos-BH 01:11:54
101 Sander Armée (Bel) Cofidis 01:12:39
102 Aleksandr Riabushenko (Blr) Astana Qazaqstan Team 01:14:31
103 Jacob Hindsgaul (Den) Uno-X Pro Cycling Team 01:16:55
104 Michal Schlegel (Cze) Caja Rural-Seguros RGA 01:17:19
105 Mikel Bizkarra Etxegibel (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 01:20:13
106 Adria Moreno Sala (Spa) Burgos-BH 01:20:19
107 Manuel Peñalver Aniorte (Spa) Burgos-BH 01:22:54
108 Ethan Vernon (GBr) Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team 01:26:14
109 Marc Brustenga (Spa) Trek-Segafredo 01:27:23
110 Alexandre Delettre (Fra) Cofidis 01:28:25
111 Ivo Oliveira (Por) UAE Team Emirates 01:30:35
112 Phil Bauhaus (Ger) Bahrain Victorious 01:30:40
113 Idar Andersen (Nor) Uno-X Pro Cycling Team 01:32:26
114 Martin Laas (Est) Bora-Hansgrohe 01:39:04