Van der Breggen rolls back the years as GC rivals fall away on 'Mini-Angliru'

Stage six of the Vuelta Femenina has been won by Anna van der Breggen. On a brutally steep final climb with gradients reaching as high as 27%, the Dutch rider was simply the strongest. Kasia Niewiadoma and Pauline Ferrand-Prévot were unable to threaten her, while Paula Blasi and Marion Bunel completed the podium as surprise inclusions.

There has been a lot of sprinting at this Vuelta Femenina so far. Lotte Kopecky of SD Worx-Protime won herself first, and then gifted the stage on Thursday to teammate Mischa Bredewold. Friday was finally the day for the GC contenders to test their legs.

The sixth stage finished on a fearsome final climb. At 3.9 kilometres at an average of 12.6%, it already sounds like a proper leg-breaker — but the gradient fluctuates wildly throughout. On some stretches the road kicks up to well over 25%. That was always going to make a difference.

There was appetite for an early breakaway from the gun. A group of four eventually formed, with Dutch rider Aniek van Alphen and another rider chasing behind them. Outsider Paula Blasi was considered one of the day's contenders but went down in a crash early in the stage. Fortunately she was able to rejoin, meaning she was still in contention when the racing began in earnest.

Van Alphen found herself alongside Léa Rondel in the chasse patate — the no-man's land between the break and the bunch — and would not make it back to the leading group. It was also a brutally hard day for the whole peloton as fierce weather conditions lashed the race. Heavy rain swept over the bunch, making the climbing metres the least of their problems.

On the approach to the final climb, red jersey wearer Lotte Kopecky took to the front and signalled the ambitions of teammate Anna van der Breggen — who was already able to cross Maeva Squiban off her list of rivals following a crash. All eyes were on the final ascent, where Cédrine Kerbaol launched an attack in the closing kilometres.

That move was quickly neutralised by Visma | Lease a Bike, allowing the thinned-out peloton to begin the climb with all the main favourites intact. Surprisingly, it was Pauline Ferrand-Prévot who was swallowed by the group almost immediately, sinking back through the bunch in the opening metres. Her teammate Marion Bunel, however, was able to stay with the best.

It was Van der Breggen who controlled the tempo in the now heavily depleted group. For a moment it seemed only Blasi, Bunel and Kasia Niewiadoma could stay with her — but even the Polish favourite could not live with the Dutch rider's pace. It was down to Blasi and the 21-year-old Bunel alone on her wheel.

It did not take long before they too had to let the SD Worx-Protime leader go. The two young riders refused to give up without a fight and remained close, keeping the suspense alive. Niewiadoma had fallen further back and was having an off-day.

Entering the final kilometre, Van der Breggen had just six seconds on her Spanish rival. The gradients were still vicious in the run to the line. Blasi appeared to be struggling more than the Dutch rider in the final metres, and it seemed Van der Breggen was on course to take both the stage and the leader's jersey. She won — though the margin, at eight seconds, remained a modest one.