Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG) suffered a scare on stage 6 of the Vuelta a España, veering off road on the treacherous descent of the late gravel climb.
The race leader had already dominated this Vuelta with two stage wins and a commanding advantage on general classification, and he went on to win the stage, but he didn't have things his own way on Thursday.
When he launched his attack on the final climb, which featured a long section of gravel, it looked like a familiar tale of solo domination, but Enric Mas (Movistar) caught up with him in remarkable fashion.
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Not only that, but the Spaniard nipped past Pogačar at the summit and started to lead him down the descent. In a striking image on the narrow roughly-surfaced descent, Mas could be seen waving his hand in a gesture at Pogačar to take it easy.
Pogačar, the superior descender, soon used a bend that Mas was taking particularly gingerly to nip through on the inside and take the lead. He proceeded to ride away from Mas, but the tables turned after just a couple of corners as Pogačar departed the road.
It was a tight series of bends and the world champion misjudged a jink in the road and headed off the drop and into a thicketed grassy section. He managed to keep upright as he came to a halt, before clambering back onto the road.
Pogačar and Mas rode together all the way to the finish, whereupon the race leader outsprinted his companion to claim his third stage win and extend his overall lead.
All's well that ends well, but not quite the tale of total domination we're so used to seeing.
You can watch the incident play out in the video below
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