A surprisingly tough stage, there's something for everyone, including three intermediate sprints, a cat 3 and a cat 1 climb to the finish in Valdelinares, plus two cat 2 climbs - the Alto de San Rafael and Puerto el Cubillo. It's difficult to tell who could benefit from this stage, but there may be an early move by one of the GC favourites. The Vuelta moves up from the south during stage 6, and temperatures should be a little more comfortable for riders which may be some reward for reaching the first of the bigger climbs.
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2025 gravel national champions index
A guide to who is wearing the jersey of a gravel national champion and when the title battles take place -
UCI Gravel World Series: Nicole Frain and Mads Würtz Schmidt claim solo victories at Houffa Gravel
Esmée Peperkamp and Loman Mathijs take runner-up spots in Belgium -
'Can somebody launch me?' - Visma-Lease a Bike delighted after Jonas Vingegaard catches Vuelta a España rivals napping with powerful surprise attack
Dane's acceleration 10 kilometres from line completely unplanned, team say -
'I felt a lot better than on the previous mountain stages' – Jonas Vingegaard back in full flight for 40th career victory at Vuelta a España despite mistimed attack
'Maybe I didn't do my homework good enough, because I thought it was closer to the finish' says Dane after making gains on all GC rivals with solo move
