The race was cold and rainy, the course hilly, and the finish uphill. It was a tough stage, and Garmin rider David Millar rode a tough race, leading a long break and keeping ahead until the final 500 meters. Then it was all for the sprinters, and Hushovd’s power was too much for the rest.
The Rain in Spain Is in the Hills
Stage Six starts and finishes in Spain stretching181.5 km from Gérone to Barcelone. Half the stage runs right along the Spanish coast. This is the first vertical stage with five categorized climbs: three Fours and two Threes, including the Cat Four Côte de la Conreria at the 160 km mark, a late-stage blow to tired legs. The final three km run uphill with a steep climb 2 km out, then a gentle ascent to the line. Sprinter might have a chance, but surely some attack will come on the final climb.
To make the finish more interesting, rain broke over the second half of the course, turning the roads dangerously slippery.
Stage Seven is the first real mountain stage, likely the Tour leaders would not attack hard in Stage Six but would save their energy for the big climbs.
Millar Leads a Break
The riders hit the first light rain at the halfway point, also. When they did, Agritubel rider Eduardo Gonzalo slipped and fell, but continued immediately. But this did not bode well for the rest of the pack over the rest of the route.
Eduardo Gonzalez, the Agritubel rider who fell earlier, started his own attack on the climb up the Cat Three Côte de Sant Vicenc de Montalt. He was immediately answered by Euskatel rider Amets Txurruka; because neither rider was a GC threat the peloton let them go. Gonzalez dropped off, but Txurruka soldiered on, pushing himself to ride down the breakaway.
Running Down the Break
The rain eased up through the middle of the stage, which made the descents safer—and quicker. This helped the breakaway, which was one-and-a-half minutes ahead at the peak of the fourth climb, the Collsacreu.
With 50 km to go, the breakaway was holding steady at 1:30. Astana was pushing the peloton, but not hard.
Finally, with 35 km to go, the peloton picked up the pace, determined to run the breakaway down before the final climb.
With thirty km to go, a number of riders collided coming around a traffic circle. Michael Rogers of Team Columbia and Heinrich Hausler of Cervelo went down, along with three or four other riders. Rogers appeared to be too injured to continue.
With 25 km to go, the peloton caught up Sylvain Chavanel and Stéphane Auge. David Millar attacked up the climb, opening half a minute over Txurruca, who was just ten seconds ahead of the peloton. Cofidis rider Rémi Pauriol crossed the gap to join Txurruca.
Astana kept raising the pace, intent on keeping their leaders, Armstrong and Contador, clear of the pack and any silly incidents.
Millar Uncatchable?
With 11 km to go the peloton caught Txurruca and Pauriol, but Millar kept stretching the gap.
Back in the peloton, a pair of multi-rider crashes crated confusion. This was why Astana pushed to the head.
With five kilometers to go, the peloton really turned up the speed, and Millar’s lead began shrinking. After 135 km of hard racing, would he come up empty?
Rabobank took the lead of the peloton, trying to deliver their Spanish sprinter, Oscar Freire, to the line. The other sprinters’ teams joined in, cutting Millar’s gap to ten seconds at two km. Astana rider Yaroslav Poppovych took the lead next, with Lance Armstrong behind.
Hushovd at the Line
Sadly, after hours of extreme effort, Millar was caught up in the final kilometer. The sprinters’ teams jostled for position, struggling up the incline. The pure sprinters were at a disadvantage; the stage favored the power sprinters, the ones that were not necessarily the fastest, but the strongest.
Hushovd waited until Freire slowed from his initial burst, and the exploded, blasting past the tiring Spaniard just before they crossed the line.
Alberto Contador, Fabian Cancellara, and Lance Armstrong finished together, so the top of the General Classification remains unchanged.
Stage Seven: The Race Really Begins
Stage Seven, 224 km from Barcelone to Andorre Arcalis, is the first true mountain stage of the race, and it is a very hard stage. The stage contains five categorized climbs, including the Category One Col de Serra-Seca, and finishing with a ten-kilometer Haute Categorie (roughly, beyond measure) climb to the finish.
With so many Astana riders bunched in the top ten with Cancellara, and Saxo Bank’s other two Tour hopefuls, the Schleck brothers being so good in the mountains, it is guaranteed that there will be some brutal battles for the overall lead tomorrow.
| Stage Five Results | ||
|
| Rider | Team |
| 1 | Thor Hushovd | Cervelo |
| 2 | Oscar Freire | Rabobank |
| 3 | José Rojas | Caisse d'Epargne |
| 4 | Gerald Ciolek | Milram |
| 5 | Franco Pellizotti | Liquigas |
| 6 | Filippo Pozzato | Katusha |
| 7 | Alessandro Ballan | Lampre |
| 8 | Rinaldo Nocentini | AG2R |
| 9 | Cadel Evans | Silence-Lotto |
| 10 | Fabian Cancellara | Saxo Bank |
