Pogacar holds off Mas to claim Vuelta stage six victory / Photo: JOSE JORDAN - AFP
Pogacar holds off Mas to claim Vuelta stage six victory
Tadej Pogacar outsprinted Enric Mas to claim Vuelta a Espana stage six victory on Thursday, his third stage win of the race.
The Slovenian superstar and Mas outshone their rivals on the gravel in the stage's final climb, and Pogacar held off the Spaniard when arriving in Castellon de la Plana to extend his general classification lead.
Five-time Tour de France winner Pogacar, the overwhelming favourite for the Vuelta, is aiming to complete a Grand Tour grand slam.
Ramses Debruyne grabbed the third spot on the podium, finishing in a group including Primoz Roglic, Richard Carapaz and Felix Gall, 46 seconds behind the leaders.
UAE Team Emirates's Pogacar, who had a brief scare as he came off the road on the final descent, now leads Movistar's Mas by 3min 34sec and compatriot Roglic by 4min 21sec overall.
There was a big battle to get into the break but it took a long time for an escape to form.
Finally 15 riders moved clear and established a two-and-a-half minute gap on the peloton with 40km remaining.
The final climb of Puerto El Bartolo split up the break and then peeled onto a gravel road, where Pogacar attacked and picked off the riders ahead of him.
Mas was hot on his tail and the Spaniard dug deep to charge past Pogacar and come over the top of the climb ahead.
Pogacar came off the road and into a grassy section after misjudging a corner, but he swiftly recovered to get back on Mas's trail.
Four-time Vuelta winner Roglic, Gall and Debruyne were chasing the front two, but Pogacar and Mas worked well together to keep their advantage.
Pogacar lead out towards the finish line and Mas could not catch him.
It was a bad day for Oscar Onley, who lost over a minute-and-a-half on his general classification rivals.
Earlier in the day, Netcompany Ineos rider Josh Tarling abandoned the race with around 120km of the stage left, with his team not giving a reason.
The Briton's brother Finlay Tarling died in the Tour of Portugal after a crash with a vehicle, but Josh decided to race in Spain in honour of his sibling.
"Josh Tarling's brave La Vuelta has come to an end and he's decided to stop. We couldn't be prouder," said Netcompany Ineos on social media.
Tarling produced a strong display in the first stage individual time trial, coming third behind Pogacar and Ethan Hayter.
On Friday, riders travel 149.8km from Vall D'Alba to the race's second summit finale at Aramon Valdelinares.
M.P.Huber--MP
