Volta a Catalunya: Schachmann wins shortened stage 6

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Maximilian Schachmann (Quick-Step Floors) came out on top in a two-up sprint to decide stage 6 of the Volta a Catalunya. The 24-year-old German outsprinted breakaway companion Diego Rubio (Burgos BH) with Sam Bennett (Bora-hansgrohe) leading home the peloton in third.

Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) finished safely within the peloton to retain his overall lead with one stage remaining in the race.

The leading pair broke away early in the stage and built up an advantage of around four minutes. The stage had been shortened from 194 to 117 kilometres due to fear of snow, but the riders still had to deal with pouring rain and windy conditions throughout. In the end, it was the wind that saved the break, with a strong tailwind carrying them all the way to the finish in Vielha.

The peloton began their chase too late but with 27km remaining the bunch split to pieces due to crosswinds, with Mitchelton-Scott, Bahrain-Merida and Bora-Hansgrohe doing the majority of the work.

Schachmann and Rubio had seen their lead shrink to two minutes with 50km to go but with 15km remaining the gap still hovered at just under a minute. They still had a chance.

The bunch at this point was down to less than 40 riders, and the firepower was lacking when it came to narrowing the gap. The sprinters’ teams rallied in the final 5km and reduced the gap to 28 seconds but when the two leaders made it under the final 1km to go banner the fate of the bunch was sealed.

Rubio looked to lead the sprint out but the canny Schachmann sat back and came through to take the win in the final 75m. The victory marked Schachmann’s first win in the WorldTour.

With one stage to go Valverde leads Egan Bernal (Team Sky) by sixteen seconds. Valverde’s teammate, Nairo Quintana is third, a further ten seconds back.

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