Volta a Catalunya 2014 - Stage 6

The Volta a Catalunya had its penultimate stage yesterday, which was treated as a transition day by the general classification contenders, but as a serious chance for a win for the sprinters left in the peloton. Luka Mezgec would be confident, but for men such as Julian Alaphilippe and Roberto Ferrari, it was their last chance to get something out of the week.

The stage was 163.9 kilometres from El Vendrell to Vilanova i la Geltru. A huge breakaway tried their hand, as it was, out of the seven, the most likely stage upon which a breakaway would succeed. The peloton would be beginning to tire after five days of racing, and the terrain was very conjusive for a break. Jens Voigt was the biggest name, and he was joined by the likes of Stef Clement and Damien Howson.

The wind played a significant part on the stage, making it harder work for the men out front. However, their large size (nine) and the fact that they worked well together really came together for them, and the peloton soon looked like it was beginning to struggle to bring the gap down. Giant-Shimano were noted for their absence in the closing stages, perhaps already satisfied with their fantastic week of work. 

Lampre-Merida were trying to crawl their way back to the breakaway as the race hit ten kilometres to go, looking to set the day up for Roberto Ferrari, but it soon became apparent that as long as the break kept working, they would stay away until the finish. They did so, and it wasn't until they got under the three kilometres to go banner that they decided to open up the hostilities against each other.

Rudy Molard of Cofidis tried a move, and then the other men in the break followed suit. Pierre Rolland (Europcar) looked strong, but in the end it was Stef Clement (Belkin), resplendant in the red mountain jersey, who put in the move no one could answer. He won solo by three seconds, before Rudy Molard won the sprint for second place. The peloton finished nearly a minute down, all the general classification contenders finished safely, setting up an exciting finale on stage seven.