Vuelta a España: Bouhanni wins in San Javier

A day of seeming calm on the Vuelta a España ended in a tempest as Nacer Bouhanni (Cofidis) won stage 6 in San Javier in a reduced bunch sprint, while Wilco Kelderman (Sunweb) and Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) conceded significant ground in the race for final overall victory.

Rudy Molard (Groupama-FDJ) finished safely in the front group to retain the red jersey, 41 seconds ahead of Michal Kwiatkowski (Team Sky), but the story of the day in the GC battle is the 1:45 conceded by Kelderman and Pinot when the bunch fragmented through a combination of a crash and crosswinds in the final 25 kilometres or so.

The turning point of the stage came when a high-speed peloton turned a sharp right-hand corner in La Union and happened upon a set of poorly-indicated and ill-protected traffic bollards in the centre of the road. A number of riders went down in the centre of the peloton, including Mike Teunissen (Sunweb) and Fabio Felline (Trek-Segafredo), while many more were caught on the back foot by the incident.

The split was exacerbated by the wind conditions, with Bora-Hansgrohe among the teams piling on the pressure at the head of the race even before the crash, and soon the peloton was splintered into a series of echelons.

Kelderman found himself caught out when he punctured with 19 kilometres to go, and though his group later merged with that of Pinot, both men finished the day almost two minutes down on all of their principal rivals for the final podium in Madrid.

While they were desperately trying to limit the damage behind, the action was no less fraught up front in a leading group that was reduced to just 50 riders. Quick-Step, Bora and EF-Drapac were among the most active teams, while Vincenzo Nibali put in a late cameo on the front in support of his Bahrain-Merida teammate Ion Izagirre.

Elia Viviani's presence in the front group saw Quick-Step Floors take up the reins on the final approach to the finish, but his lead-out train - normally the best-drilled in the peloton - was thrown out of whack by a roundabout in the closing kilometre. It was that kind of a day.

In a chaotic bunch finish, Bouhanni sagely hit the front from distance. The Frenchman had the raw speed to open a winning gap and the sheer willpower to stay in front to the line, holding off Danny Van Poppel (LottoNL-Jumbo) and a rapidly-closing Viviani, who came from a long way back in the final 50 metres but simply ran out of road and had to settle for third.

Simone Consonni (UAE-Team Emirates) took 4th ahead of Matteo Trentin (Mitchelton-Scott), while world champion Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) had to settle for 9th.

Bouhanni has cut an isolated figure at Cofidis since Cedric Vasseur took over as manager this season, and on Thursday morning he even had to refute another rumour of unrest in the camp. Victory in San Javier is Bouhanni's first in a Grand Tour since he won this day four years ago on the Vuelta in Albacete, and it was a timely reminder of his undoubted class.

"It was a really hard and very fast in the finale. I really determined to win today after what happened yesterday. I was really annoyed with the false information," Bouhanni said afterwards. "In the finale, I know how to win when I have the legs, I went from train to train and wheel to wheel."

The day's drama, sadly, did not end with Bohanni's victory, as several riders in the front group were brought down when they crashed into a barrier past the finish line. They had scarcely picked themselves off the road when the group containing Kelderman and Pinot rolled in. In the overall standings, Kelderman drops to 17th overall, 2:50 behind Molard, while Pinot is now 3:08 behind his teammate.

How it unfolded

After a fraught and high-speed opening to Wednesday's rugged leg to Roquetas de Mar, there was a rather more sedate beginning to stage 5. Once the flag dropped in Huércal-Overa, a trio of riders slipped clear and the peloton gladly granted them their freedom.

It was no surprise to see king of the mountains leader Luis Angel Maté (Cofidis) and Jorge Cubero of wildcard invitee Burgos-BH in the early break, though the presence of Richie Porte (BMC) was a deviation from the expected script. The Australian, long since eliminated from overall contention, is at this Vuelta largely to prepare for the World Championships in Innsbruck, and he was figured that he might as well put in his training miles on the front.

Porte, Maté and Cubero quickly established a lead of close to four minutes over the bunch, but there was a willing coalition of squads keen to keep their advantage under control. Groupama-FDJ rode on the front to protect the red jersey of Rudy Molard, while Quick-Step Floors made a solid contribution with Elia Viviani in mind.

The fare was relatively sedate for much of the afternoon, as Maté picked up mountains points on the Alto del Garrobillo and Alto del Cedacero, and as the stage drew on, the peloton was more than half an hour down on the slowest projected time schedule.

The pace picked up inside the final 50km, where the break's lead was already down to 2:22, and by the intermediate sprint at Cartagena, it was already long clear that the escapees were riding on borrowed time. Maté and Porte sat up with 33km to go as the bunch closed to within 10 seconds of the break. Cubero continued to rage against the dying of the light a little longer, but with the threat of crosswinds in the finale, the speed ratcheted up in the peloton and the Spaniard was pegged back with 28km remaining.

From there, the stage began all over again. For better and for worse, the drama of the breathless last half hour proved that there is never a dull day on the Vuelta.

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