In his defense (I know I'm a fanboy), Garmin worked all day, then left Farrar isolated for the last 10 km. He had to work hard just to make it to the front.
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy
Be interesting to see how everyone goes tomorrow with a finish more suited to your classic powerhouse sprint. The race making use of a decent size Avenue for Stage 6's finale.
Great victory for Michael Matthews, so look out Gossy for the Bling is coming .
After several arduous days in the saddle the peloton receive a slight reprieve, The peloton will cycle 175km from the town of Guijuelo, within the autonomous region of Castile and Leon, to the town of Cáceres, within the autonomous region of Extremadura. Whilst one of the flatter stages so far in the 2013 Vuelta a Espana, Stage 6 still features 2,090m of accumulated elevation gain.
Apart from the two intermediate sprints there are not many incentives for the breakaway, unless they steal a seemingly unlikely stage victory. With limited opportunities available for the sprinters to showcase their skills the stage screams out for a sprinter to claim the stage victory. The teams of the sprinters will be expected to reel in the breakaway of the day, which usually forms near the beginning of each stage.
With la Vuelta a Espana journeying further inland the wind is predicted to cause less trouble, with just light winds predicted so far. The temperature will however be on the rise as the race treks every further south. With the temperature (in Celsius) predicted to change from around the low 20's to the high 20's and low 30's as the peloton reach Extremadura and the finishing line in Cáceres.
Final Kilometres
Today's stage finale will be perfectly suited to a high octane sprint between the pure sprinters. With the stage utilising the Avenue Ruta de la Plata as its finish straight. Whilst the peloton will have to navigate their way around a couple of corners and five roundabouts, the vast majority of the approach to the finishing line is dead straight. The only obstruction located within the final kilometre is the the left-hand ino to stage's finishing straight with somewhere between 700-800 metres of the stage remaining.
Stage Contenders
With the finale to Stage 6 best suited to the thoroughbred sprinters who enjoy a drag race, the likes of Greg Henderson (Lotto-Belisol) should be favourites for the stage victory. Coming off their victory in Stage 5, Orica-GreenEDGE and Michael Matthews will be surfing a high. It would not be surprising if Matthews can repeat his performance to grab the spotlight again.
After dedicating much of their energy to helping chase the breakaway during Stage 5, Garmin-Sharp will be disappointed by Tyler Farrar's fifth place. The American outfit will keenly be looking to improve upon their Stage 5 performance and hopefully sprint away with a stage victory.
Whilst Argos-Shimano will be confident in their abilities to claim pole position leading in to the sprint, their inability to capitalise from their lead position will rankle. The Dutch outfit will be hoping once again position their designated sprinter at the fore, and will hope to this time claim the stage victory.
Another candidate for the stage victory will be Vacansoleil – DCM's Barry Markus. The young sprinter should be better suited to Stage 6's finale, and arguably a better option than Grega Bole for today. Should Markus be able to position himself to the fore of the peloton through the help of his team or by piggybacking the wheels of his rivals, he should at least finish highly placed.
Other teams who could potential throw a cat among the pigeons are Omega Pharma – Quick, Lampre-Merida, Lotto-Belisol, Team Sky, and FDJ.fr. The stage does not perfectly suit Gianni Meersman's attributes, but he can still finish strongly. One can never discount the experience head of New Zealander Greg Henderson out, and the likes of Anthony Roux and Edvald Boasson Hagen should once again be in the mix. While Maximiliano Richeze of Lampre-Merida finished strongly during Stage 5's bunch sprint to claim second behind Matthews.
Epilogue
Another opportunity for the sprinters to get some time in the limelight. Who will prove the strongest and best organised today? Can Orica-GreenEDGE and Michael Matthews make it two in a row? Or will one of the other teams get to experience the sweet taste of victory?
Edited by Malkael on 28-08-2013 22:06
Delighted for Matthews, great maiden GT win in his debut grand tour. GreenEdge having awesome end of season ( well it began at Tour with the stage wins and yellow tbh and continued ever since ).
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