The penultimate stage of the Tour of Catalonia did not foresee many emotions, since the route of the previous day was marked by a strenuous finish in the mountains. For the race between Martorell and Molins de Rei, it was clear that the plains would predominate, because despite the fact that there were some mid-height peaks, the finish was focused on the packers.
At the finish of the race, a peloton of abundant participation was evident, since in the last three kilometers a group of at least 25 cyclists was seen in the distance, who were crowded and sought to hold out until the final kilometer to lurk in the goal, however, the only ones who achieved that purpose were those who kept strength in their legs.
Although, in certain sections of the race, some runners tried to break away, they did not have much resistance, because until the last 500 meters there was a large peloton. Of the leaders of the fifth stage, the only ones who reached the top 10 of the classification, were Remco Evenepoel (Soudal Quick-Step) and Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma), who placed fifth and ninth respectively.
The Colombians did not have a very good time, because although in the race on Friday March 24 (fifth stage) they came close to the podium, in the case of Rigoberto Urán (EF), for the route between Martorell and Molins de Rei, the one with the best position It was Esteban Chaves, who occupied the 24th place with a time of 3:50’32, like Rigo, although he was in the 42nd box, while Einer Rubio was in the 45th.
On this occasion, the sixth stage podium was occupied by Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck), Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) and Ide Schelling (Bora) respectively.
Egan withdrew from the Tour of Catalonia
Of the 182 kilometers of the sixth stage, Egan did not manage to run much, because just under 90 kilometers from the finish line, the Colombian fell to the ground after running into other competitors and had to be treated. Initially, it was expected that Bernal would recover his condition and could go on the attack, however, despite the fact that he rejoined, the team decided to withdraw him in order to take care of him.
“Egan Bernal abandons the Tour of Catalonia after suffering a fall. A lot of strength Egan!”, said the INEOS.
Withdrawals in stage six of the Tour of Catalonia
Egan Bernal (Colombia)
Marc Brenner (Germany)
Marc Brustenga Masangue (Spain)
Kinge Hailemichael (Ethiopia)
Jimmy Janssens (Belgium)
Lukasz Owsian (Polonia)
Rudiger Selig (Germany)
Classification of Colombians in the Tour of Catalonia
10. Rigoberto Urán: +2”49
11. Esteban Chaves: +3’06
14. One Rubio: +4′33
24. Ivan Ramiro Sosa: +10’04
64. Andrés Camilo Ardila: +37’35
89. Harold Tejada: +49′06
Egan Bernal’s last retirement in a career
Coincidentally, during the penultimate stage of the Vuelta a San Juan in Argentina, and when 18 kilometers had elapsed, Colombian cyclist Egan Bernal got off his bike and withdrew from the race one day after its conclusion.
At first, it was believed that the reason for his withdrawal was due to stomach problems, since it was a reason that was repeated in the abandonment of the Argentine race by several runners throughout this week. However, a few minutes after Egan’s abandonment of the race was presented, INEOS made the reason official:
“Egan Bernal has reluctantly withdrawn from the Vuelta a San Juan due to pain in his left knee suffered in the fall in which he was involved in the first stage of the race.” with Infobae