The sixth stage of the Volta a Catalunya was no sight-seeing excursion for the peloton, in spite of the fact they were arriving in the beautiful Port Aventura. Punctuated by two climbs and a day long battle into the wind, the race worked to enervate the riders right up to the finish line. Now only the final difficult stage in the streets of Barcelona remains. 

And for the second time in the Catalonian tour, the breakaway made it to the finish, with Sergei Chernetski (Katusha) taking the win by a nose and beard ahead of Julian Alaphilippe (Etixx - Quick Step). The pack, which was largely powered by Marcel Wyss (IAM Cycling) and a handful of other riders, rolled in 1’50” behind the lead group. 

Present in the group of overall favorites, Jarlinson Pantano took part in the sprint from the main peloton, in a bid to make certain that he would be in no danger of losing any time on the GC. The Columbian rider tenaciously hung onto his 11th place, while still keeping his eyes on the chance to move up into the top-10 come the finish line in Barcelona.

Marcel Wyss played a decisive role for IAM Cycling in the hunt for the escape group, and as a result is happy to rediscover his good sensations during this Volta a Catalunya.

“Every day I feel a little bit better,” the Swiss rider explained. “It is really important to me. And the fact that I was able to do this type of hard work is a big step for me personally, and it really helps me in terms of motivation. I worked hard to bring back the break until we reached the final climb when some of the other teams took over. Today I managed to finish in the bunch, and this is the first time I have achieved that during this race.  All the other days, I’ve been in the grupetto, and that’s a big sign for me that I am better.”

Larry Warbasse also noted how difficult all the stages of this year’s Catalonian tour have been. 

“It was definitely a very tough stage today,” the American rider said. “Especially the last two hours were really tough. Every day we are going faster and faster here. But the wind today was blowing very hard and made things much more complicated. I think we worked very well in the final to bring back the escape group and to protect Jarlinson. And in any case, all the hard work we are doing here will help us perform better in the upcoming races.”

Mario Chiesa, before moving onto the next race, is prepared to enjoy the moment. Since Clément Chevrier was forced to abandon this morning due to illness, the IAM Cycling team had to stay even more tightly grouped around its leader, Jarlinson Pantano, in an attempt to help him slip into the top-10 on the general classification. Chiesa explained the team’s motivation for the day.

“For the past several days, we have been trying to get into the breakaway, and today was the perfect opportunity. But our main objective was to protect Jarlinson Pantano, so we could not play it both ways. The guys did a really great job. I asked Marcel Wyss to work to bring the break back with 30 or 40 kilometers still to go in the stage, to prevent the break from gaining too much time, and he did a fantastic job. And then Jarlinson didn’t lose any more time, which is what we wanted.”