This Thursday, the Tour of Spain (2.WT, 14/08-5/09) reached the Mediterranean coast at the end of the sixth stage. The riders were only 3h30 on the bike to ride the 158.3 kilometer distance between Requena and Cullera. After a couple of breakaway attempts, five riders finally managed to distance the peloton on their way to the coastline. The five men resisted well when all of a sudden the peloton made use of the wind to accelerate and form echelons in the final and started the steep climb to Cullera (1.9km at 8.7%) first. Louis Meintjes survived the selection with a couple of teammates and climbed to the top with the better riders. Primoz Roglic had the best final shot in de last hectometers, but he came just too short to overtake Magnus Cort, last survivor of the early breakaway. Meintjes finished 27 seconds later and integrates the top 10 of the general classification thanks to this 18th place. Nobody could threaten Rein Taaramäe‘s KOM jersey, but this Friday will be different as six categorized climbs are waiting on the 152 kilometer parcours between Gandia and Balcon de Alicante.
I moved up a couple of positions in the general classification, so today’s conclusion is positive. This short stage was very nervous because of the wind. I could luckily rely on good legs and on the help of Wesley Kreder and Riccardo Minali to bring me in a good position on crucial points and to survive the selection. In addition, the brutal final ended with the short and steep climb towards Cullera, which was not completely new to me. I’m satisfied about my performance, but I’m already looking forward to longer climbs. There are still a lot of opportunities to move up in the general classification. Tomorrow for example, the short stage is looking very hard on paper!
