Vuelta a España 2020: Stage 6 preview

Stage 6: Biescas - Sallent de Gállego. Aramón Formigal

Date: October 25, 2020

Distance: 146.4km

Stage start: 1:09 pm CEST

Stage finish: 5-5:30pm 

Stage type: Mountain

Stage 6 was supposed to scale the mighty Col du Tourmalet and Col d'Aubisque, but after coronavirus restrictions have made the race’s planned foray into France impossible, the Vuelta organisers have had to totally redesign what had been considered the queen stage of the 2020 edition. 

The new 146.4km stage 6 starting in Biescas and finishing at Aramon Formigal still features three climbs for 3,040 metres of elevation gain.

The first climb is the category-3 Alto de Petralba, followed by the category-2 Alto de Cotefablo, and they’ll head back into Biescas before taking on the climb to Formigal, which itself isn’t so difficult. The road climbs for 27km from Biescas but official climb is 14.6km at an average gradient of 4.6 per cent.

“We have to be grateful for the collaboration we’ve had with the French authorities and localities, and we hope that when things are back to normal we can repeat a stage which I believe is one of the best we could present on a Vuelta route," said Guillén.

“That said, we’ll still have a great stage on the 25th. The Vuelta won’t be stopping. We’ll have 146km, starting in Biescas and finishing at Aramon Formigal, with three climbs and a first-category summit finish.

"It’s a stage that fits perfectly, because a mountain stage is substituted by a mountain stage. We know we’re going to maintain the spectacle that the riders have so brilliantly given us so far.”