Friday's inland path from Gijón to Les Praeres on stage 6 at La Vuelta Femenina should unfurl like a tidal wave, calm at first and then crushing with intensity on the first of two summit finishes. It is a sure bet to ignite the GC battle as the big mountains arrive.
The red leader's jersey will be on the shoulders of Lotte Kopecky (SD Worx-Protime) for a second day, but the terrain is not suited to her signature sprint. She has two teammates in the top 5 of the GC, with last year's third-place overall finisher Anna van der Breggen the designated team leader to repeat, or better, her performance from a year ago.
And there's another 22 riders just 32 seconds or less behind the leading GC time after five days at the Grand Tour. Among the GC contenders in striking distance are Évita Muzic (FDJ United-SUEZ), Cédrine Kerboal (EF Education-Oatly), Kasia Niewiadoma-Phinney (Canyon-SRAM zondacrypto) and Monica Trinca Colonel (Liv AlUla Jayco), all who finished in the top 11 in 2025. And Tour de France Femmes winner Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Visma-Lease a Bike) is also a rider to watch when the road tips skyward.
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A series of rollers from the start move to the east through Oles and then the route turns south at El Puntal following the Miera River. There's a flat stretch of about 10km, with Villaviciosa in the middle of the valley, and once at San Juan with 67.8km to go, the bulk of the 2,100 metres of climbing begins.
A 3km uncategorised ascent to La Curciada signals a loop through the mountainous Asturias region for 33.6 kilometres, and when the peloton passes La Curciada a second time, from a different side, there are intermediate sprint points in play.
A section of nearly 20km is covered again and this time abruptly turns right for the final test, a wall of pain across 3.7km to the top of Les Praeres de Nava. The average gradient of the ascent is close to 13% for the first 2.5km. Then a false flat arrives for a few pedal strokes before serious gradients of 22% strike and a final section at 27%.
There will be little time for the lungs and legs to recover, as the final stage on Saturday brings the formidable Alto de l'Angliru as the closing act for this year's Vuelta Femenina.
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Profile of stage 6 at La Vuelta Femenina 2026 (Image credit: La Vuelta Femenina)
Climbs
Mountaintop finish at Les Praeres.Nava - 3.7km at 13%
Jackie has been involved in professional sports for more than 30 years in news reporting, sports marketing and public relations. She founded Peloton Sports in 1998, a sports marketing and public relations agency, which managed projects for Tour de Georgia, Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah and USA Cycling. She also founded Bike Alpharetta Inc, a Georgia non-profit to promote safe cycling. She is proud to have worked in professional baseball for six years - from selling advertising to pulling the tarp for several minor league teams. On the bike, she has climbed l'Alpe d'Huez three times (not fast), and spends time on gravel around horse farms in north Georgia.
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