2026 Vuelta España Femenina Stage 6 Results & Recap
Stage 6 of the 2026 Vuelta España Femenina is in the books. The final results and standings are below, followed by our recap of how the race unfolded.
Race Recap
Anna van der Breggen wins penultimate stage
Anna van der Breggen (Team SD Worx-Protime) grinded to victory on the steep summit finish at Les Praeres on Stage 6 of La Vuelta Femenina, holding off a late charge from Paula Blasi (UAE Team ADQ) to win by eight seconds, while Marion Bunel (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) rounded out the podium 29 seconds back after a rain-soaked and savage day in the Asturias mountains.
The penultimate stage covered 106.5 kilometres and more than 2,100 metres of elevation gain before culminating atop Les Praeres de Nava, a vicious 3.7-kilometre ascent averaging 13.4% with ramps exceeding 20% near the finish.
The stage began aggressively on damp roads beneath cool and cloudy skies. An early breakaway eventually settled into a four-rider move featuring Gaia Masetti (Team Picnic PostNL), Sterre Vervloet (Lotto Intermarché Ladies), Marine Allione (Mayenne Monbana My Pie) and Elisa Valtulini (Vini Fantini-Bepink).
The quartet quickly built a substantial advantage, stretching the gap beyond five minutes midway through the stage as the peloton remained content to let the attackers dangle ahead on the rolling terrain. Masetti later accelerated out of the break with less than 17 kilometres remaining, and only Vervloet could follow as the move began to fracture ahead of the decisive climb.
Behind them, Team Visma | Lease a Bike gradually increased the tempo as the race approached the finale. Rain intensified in the closing kilometres, creating treacherous conditions on the narrow Asturian roads.
The stage was not without crashes. Sarah Van Dam (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) slammed into the barriers after being forced off the road with roughly 11 kilometres to go but was able to continue after taking a spare bike. Earlier, Maeva Squiban (UAE Team ADQ) crashed heavily and was later forced to abandon the race.
The final showdown began as the peloton hit the lower slopes of Les Praeres in pouring rain. Team SD Worx-Protime immediately took over at the front, with red jersey holder Lotte Kopecky setting a fierce pace before beginning to lose contact once the gradients steepened dramatically.
Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (Team Visma | Lease a Bike) guided the reduced peloton onto the climb before Van der Breggen launched her decisive acceleration. A select front group emerged featuring Van der Breggen, Blasi, Bunel, Juliette Berthet (FDJ United-Suez), Katarzyna Niewiadoma (CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto), Cédrine Kerbaol (EF Education-Oatly) and Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio (AG Insurance-Soudal Team).
Van der Breggen steadily rode clear in the final two kilometres while Blasi attempted to claw her way back on the steepest ramps. With 400 metres remaining, gradients exceeded 20%, but the Dutch veteran never cracked and crossed the line victorious after over three hours of racing.
Blasi finished eight seconds later to claim the best result of her young career, while Bunel secured third. Monica Trinca Colonel (Liv-AlUla-Jayco) and Berthet completed the top five on the stage.
The brutal finale also reshuffled the general classification heading into the race’s final stage, with several contenders—including Kopecky and Niewiadoma—losing valuable time on one of the steepest summit finishes in recent La Vuelta history.
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