Marianne Vos added yet another victory to her palmares after winning the sixth stage of La Vuelta Femenina by Carrefour.es. The victory – an astonishing 257th of her career – came by the narrowest of margins in a photo finish sprint against Mischa Bredewold of SD Worx-Protime. Ally Wollaston (FDJ-Suez) led the rest of the bunch and took third on the stage.
It was a relatively quiet day for the general classification riders, minus a fun little jaunt in the wind with 13 km to go. Demi Vollering of FDJ-Suez will keep her red leader's jersey for the seventh and final stage. She leads by 45 seconds over Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx-Protime) and a further second over Marlen Reusser (Movistar).
Brief results
[race_result id=9058 stage_id=87613 count=10 gc=0 year=2025]
GC after stage 6
[race_result id=9058 stage_id=87613 count=10 gc=10 year=2025]
How it happened
- It took about 46 km for a breakaway to form and when it finally did, it was 19 riders who made their way off the front of the peloton, including some big names: Ellen van Dijk (Lidl-Trek), who wore the red jersey on stage 2; Olympic champion Kristen Faulkner (EF Education-Oatly); Justine Ghekiere (AG Insurance-Soudal); and Pfeiffer Georgie (PicNic-PostNL).
- With representatives of almost every major team in the break, too many riders weren't taking turns in the wind up front, and it kept the move within 30 seconds of the peloton. By 46 km to go, the large break was reabsorbed.
- The moment the peloton was complete, new attacks started to fly, relentlessly. Three riders, including EF Education-Oatly's Sarah Roy, were able to slip away but were brought back within the final 15 km when the three kickers at the end of the race loomed.
- The small climbs at the tail end of the race brought out an attack from Tour de France stage winner Liane Lippert of Movistar. Briefly, Vollering and Van der Breggen followed the move, and in the end, a group containing Vos, Bredewold and Lippert formed. They were caught by the reduced peloton with 10 km to go, just before the road pitched downwards.
- Cédrine Kerbaol (EF Education-Oatly) tried one of her trademark attacks on the final descent, but the peloton has officially become wise to her games. Into the final 1.5 km, it was a reduced bunch ready to fight for the win.
- The finale was squirrelly and a lot of sprinters were sans a proper leadout. Teams that had enough bodies to position their sprinter couldn't find each other; meanwhile, Vos expertly surfed the wheels in a way that only the G.O.A.T. can do.
- Bredewold went long with Vos on her wheel, and in the end, it was a narrow victory for Vos that came down to the photo. They crossed the line a few bike lengths ahead of the rest, led in by Wollaston, but all riders were credited with the same finish time.
Analysis
- Imogen Wolff was one of Vos' MVPs of the day, with a fantastic pull into the final corner, but watching Vos find her own wheels in the final 2 km is as close as it comes to watching a magic trick. Every time a rider moved up to the front of the peloton, Vos was on it. From the wheel of Reusser to Anna Henderson, to Bredewold. She was always in the perfect position. That's what years and years of experience will get you.
- Wolff, who signed for Visma-Lease a Bike as a stagiaire in 2024 and is contracted with the team through 2027, is only 19. The final pull she executed was enough to land her 10th on the stage as well. She's learning from some of the best in the sport and is a fascinating prospect to watch.
- Vos' victory, her second of this Vuelta, makes this the third year in a row the Dutchwoman has won two stages of the race, not including a third stage victory in 2023 in the opening team time trial.
- The final stage (see preview below) is going to be a brutal one - three climbs, with the final atop Alto de Cotobello.Asturias will be another test for the GC riders. Everyone will be looking at Vollering and Van der Breggen, but it will also be interesting to see how Reusser stacks up against the two. Reusser previously voiced her intention to go for GC at the Giro d'Italia in 2024, but was sidelined almost all season due to injury and illness. That she is third on the general classification going into the final stage is already quite a statement from the Swiss rider. She finished second behind Vollering in Setmana Valenciana earlier in the season, but the four-day stage race isn't on the same level as La Vuelta.
- Based on how Vollering rode the fifth stage, it doesn't look like anyone will be able to challenge the FDJ-Suez captain or her team on Saturday. Van der Breggen wasn't about to let her former protégé out of her sight during stage 6, and she will use the same tactic for the final stage. The question is: How long can Van der Breggen hang onto Vollering's wheel? And if she manages to make it to the final steep section of the final climb with Vollering, can she challenge her? It doesn't look like it, but Van der Breggen always has something up her sleeve.
- With multiple descents, sections of them technical, the peloton can expect attacks from Kerbaol in the final stage. The EF Education-Oatly rider sits fourth overall, 1:49 back on Vollering. The American team is known for racing with style, and the one-minute deficit she needs to cut to land on the podium will be hard to find, but trust her to try.
- Lidl-Trek has two riders in the top 10 GC – Riejanne Markus in fifth, 2:05 down, and Niamh Fisher-Black in seventh, 2:19 down. Fisher-Black was climbing well up to the final two kilometres of the fifth stage, and how they are able to finish off the race will give some insight into how the American team approaches the rest of the stage-race season, especially the Tour de France Femmes.
Quote of the day
Vos and her team agreed with my last race recap that the stage suited her racing style.
Of course I'm very happy and exhausted to be honest. We knew as a team today was a chance for us and we wanted to go all in, and we did. In the end it was really close so I was happy I could take it.
She also gave some insight into the conditions on the road and why it took so long for a breakaway to form, and then why the break was doomed.
It was a lot of long straight open roads with not a lot of wind but enough wind to make it hard, mostly headwind, so it was not ideal for the breakaway. It was a fast runin with the downhill, all the teams were trying to prepare, already on the final climbs it was pretty tough to stay in contention.
What's next
Adapted from my full Vuelta preview ...
Stage 7: La Robla to Alto de Cotobello, Asturias - 152.6 km - Saturday, May 10 at 10:00 CET
The final stage is not only the hardest in terms of climbing, but it's also the longest stage of the race.
The race starts on a gradual uphill before a 13 km long descent that is technical in the beginning, albeit on a three-lane road. The first categorised climb of the day is 81 km into the race. The Cat 2 Alto de la Colladona, a 5.5 km long ascent averaging 7.4%.
The next climb, Alto de la Colladiella, hits 23 km after the top of the first climb. This one is 6.4 km long and averages 8.2%, with some steep sections in the beginning and the end.
The riders then circle back to race up Alto de Cotobello.Asturias , a 10.3 km long ascent that averages 8%. It will finish off the stage and the race overall, the perfect final battleground for the women to fight for red.
Because there is still a good bit of road between the first two climbs, and before the final ascent begins, the race will likely not kick off until Alto de Cotobello.Asturias. The first two ascents will shed some riders from the peloton, and a lot of teams will be down to single or double riders by the time they reach the final climb, but the attacks probably won't fly until the final 10 km. Before then, it will be a steady pace that will break the legs, especially after a week of racing already done.
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