It was the hardest mountain stage so far in the 2025 La Vuelta, but not hard enough to cause major changes in the general classification.
La Vuelta Espana stage 6 2025 profile
The rainy stage finished in Andorra, home to many riders who live and train at altitude. Among them was Jay Vine, who made it into the breakaway and helped to form it early on. Knowing the roads well, the Australian attacked with 20 km to go on a descent and soloed to his third La Vuelta stage win and his fourth victory of 2025, beating Torstein Træen, Lorenzo Fortunato, Bruno Armirail, Pablo Castrillo and other strong climbers by 1–2 minutes. Træen became the new GC leader as the peloton chose not to chase down the strong breakaway.
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The stage was not brutally difficult as Emmanuel Buchmann expended 3,149 kilojoules over 4 hours at 12.72 kJ/kg/h, but it was selective enough to crack Juan Ayuso. The Spaniard, who in his first two Vueltas finished 3rd (at age 19) and 4th, has since struggled. He DNFed the 2024 Tour and the 2025 Giro, and once again underperformed in a Grand Tour, losing seven minutes to the main GC contenders. The final climb, Pal Vallnord (9.2 km at 6.75%), was not particularly steep or punishing, and even without a perfect buildup for La Vuelta, Ayuso’s weakness was a surprise.
On Pal Vallnord, Lidl Trek set the pace for Giulio Ciccone, who is in the form of his life. The Italian attacked Jonas Vingegaard, but the Dane held his wheel. They were eventually caught, and later João Almeida tried to attack, but the group stayed together until the finish. Vingegaard, Ciccone and Almeida climbed in 22:26 with an output of 6.17 ᵉW/Kg, adjusted to 6.55 ᵉW/Kg for altitude. It was not the hardest stage or climb, but only 13 riders finished in the GC group, clearly showing who might be fighting for overall victory and the Top 10.