Vuelta a España stage 6 LIVE – Fireworks expected as gravel and steep climbs on the menu in Spain
177.4km stage from Alcossebre to Castelló features four categorised climbs, the last of which features a gravel stretch
About 20km done, Lutsenko and Bisiaux are in the lead but there's a group chasing behind them, and the gap is still only really small – 15 seconds from the leaders to the peloton with the chasers in between.
Léo Bisiaux (Decathlon CMA CGM) is with Lutsenko, but the gap is still small.
Sounds like Alexey Lutsenko (NSN) might have a bit of a gap on the peloton. He won't want to be out there alone, though, and the attacks are continuing behind.
Attacks all over the road so far.
Just over 10km done. The attacks are flowing but nothing has quite stuck yet.
Gravel in Grand Tours, yay or nay?
The inclusion of gravel in Grand Tours is becoming more and more common, but there's still a bit of debate about whether it's a good thing or not.
On the one hand, it adds to the excitement and to the 'all-rounder' qualities that a GT winner needs, but on the other hand, a lot of people think it's frustrating that a race could be lost because of a puncture or crash on gravel.
Our gravel expert Jackie Tyson spoke to Michael Woods about today's stage: 'From a spectator's perspective, it's awesome' - Michael Woods says gravel section on stage 6 of 2026 Vuelta a España is 'ambush territory'
But what do you think?
The first attacks are starting. It's a big day to be in the breakaway, so I wouldn't be surprised if we see a pretty fierce – and drawn-out – battle for the break.
Here's a reminder of what is on the cards today:
Official start
Off we go – 177.5km and four categorised climbs to come.
Don't forget to vote in the poll above to tell us who you think is going to win, or better yet, tell us your thoughts in the comments.
Not the most successful start line selfie I've ever seen. Where is everyone else?
Startline selfie 🤳😍Selfie del día 🤳🥹#LaVuelta26 pic.twitter.com/1KU6f779Q2August 27, 2026
Neutral roll-out
And they're off!
A little earlier than planned but the peloton have just rolled out for the neutral.
A scenic start this morning in Alcossebre on the coast.
Want a closer look at the stage today?
Our preview has all the details of the route, plus Alasdair Fotheringham, who is on the ground for us, has been gathering intel from the peloton.
Not just gravel, but a gravel climb
Today should be a really exciting stage in Spain, because not only is the Vuelta embracing gravel for the first time (something the other Grand Tours have experimented with already) but they're going in hard with a gravel climb, the Puerto El Bartolo.
9.4km long with a punishing average gradient of 7%, this would be a hard climb in normal circumstance, but it's made even trickier by the fact that the final kilometres are unpaved gravel.
And? It tops out with 20km to go on today's stage... fireworks incoming. Here's a closer look at the climb:
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of stage 6 of the Vuelta a España.
Follow along all day for live updates and commentary on the race.
