Rafal Majka finished with the main group of favorites on stage 6 of Vuelta a España to Sierra de Cazorla after 200km of racing in scorching temperatures. Tinkoff-Saxo’s GC captain finished 8th atop the final, short climb behind stage winner Esteban Chaves, as the squad looks to the tougher mountain stage Friday.

Stage 6 of La Vuelta took the riders 200.3km from Córdoba to Sierra de Cazorla, where the hot stage finished off with a 3km climb with steep sections. Esteban Chaves (OGE) took the win, 11 seconds in front of the main group with Majka, while Peter Sagan still leads the points classification by 5 points. After crossing the line, Majka sheds light on the stage.

“It definitely was a difficult day with extreme heat and temperatures close to 45 degrees. The final climb was tough but not extraordinarily and it was done at a fast pace. I was in the leading group, in a position to do the final sprint but I took eighth with three riders out front. I feel I can be satisfied with the result, as the squad positioned me perfectly prior to the final climb. I am sure a lot of riders must have suffered today from the scorching heat. Tomorrow it will even be harder since the climb is longer”, comments Rafal Majka before adding:

“I felt in better shape today but we have to be cautious. The Vuelta is still long way from finishing. I am close to the GC leaders, I haven't lost a lot of time and in my opinion the last week will be critical, although it's still too early”.

“Not with these conditions [could I go for the win]. I hate this heat and it was very hard for me. I don’t know if it was the same for other riders but for me it was too hot," Sagan said.

“It’s very bad. I want some rules for this weather because it’s impossible. You take water from the car and then after five minutes you have tea.”

Tinkoff-Saxo’s leading sports director at Vuelta a España, Tristan Hoffman, is content with the outcome of stage 6 finishing atop the climb of Alto de Cazorla.

“Rafal was good today, he’s feeling better and better after getting some race speed into the legs. He made one move in the finale and he was never in trouble. We are glad to see this sign as we enter some tough days starting tomorrow. The boys kept him at the front of the field before the final climb today and other than that our focus was on saving energy, eating and drinking, drinking and drinking to avoid dehydration”, says Tristan Hoffman.

“At moments we had temperatures above 40 degrees, so the air is actually hotter than the body temperature. When it’s like that, it is absolutely crucial to ensure that the team goes back and forth to the team car to restock on water. Otherwise, the effects will be felt the day after, and tomorrow we have a real mountain stage. It was important, especially for Rafal not to expend too much energy, he focused on staying at the front of the favorite’s group and he finished well”, concludes Tristan Hoffman.