'It started steep and it finished steep' – Anna van der Breggen wins stage six of La Vuelta Femenina during brutal final climb, to wear the maillot rojo on the final day

Anna van der Breggen (SD Worx - Protime) won stage six of La Vuelta Femenina, an 106.5km-long mountain day with an uphill finish, steaming up the brutal ascent of Les Praeres in impressive style, followed by Paula Blasi (UAE Team ADQ) and then Marion Bunel (Visma–Lease a Bike).

The rain in Spain started getting heavier as the day's racing rushed towards its dramatic conclusion, with a rather decimated peloton of riders jostling for position during the long descent preceding the final climb, but as the elevation started to properly rear – up to 27% at one point – the contest was reduced to a three-way battle.

Despite starting the day still felling the effects of a crash yesterday, the 36-year-old veteran Van der Breggen led from from the outset on the relentless 3.7-kilometre ascent of Les Praeres. With an average gradient of 13,4% (and maximum incline of 27%) the climb has twice featured in the men’s La Vuelta (with triumphs for the UK’s Simon Yates in 2018 and South Africa’s Louis Meintjes in 2022), but this was the first time the women's race had tackled it.

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The prospect of the final hill had hung over the peloton for much of the day's racing, and as the riders approached the conditions deteriorated significantly, with ever-heavier rain making the roads slippery and reducing visibility. Maeva Squiban (UAE) crashed out of the race altogether, with Sarah Van Dam (Visma-Lease a Bike) also suffering a fall, and the front group was reduced to 40 riders as the peloton approached Les Praeres, which was where the penultimate day, and the general classification order, was always going to be decided.

"This climb is new for a lot of us riders," Van der Breggen had told TNT Sport before the day's cycling began, explaining that she had deliberately not recced the hill. "It's exciting!"

Her performance on the ascent did not disappoint. Using her experience and taking control from the very start, Van der Breggen opened up a small gap as the gradient started to really bite. The hill offers a small respite, with 1km of relatively flat road after the worst of the climb, but the final 800 metre rears up again, to 11.5%.

Throughout the climb, 23-year-old Spaniard Blasi hung onto the Dutch woman's wheels with grim determination, and 21-year-old French rider Marion Bunel (Visma–Lease a Bike) was just behind. All three riders were in time-trial mode, riding on their limits with no support.

Blasi, who came into cycling relatively recently from duathlon, and won the Amstel Gold race in great style last month, is enjoying an incredible season, and Bunel now holds the white jersey in the La Vuelta Femenina. Neither were able to catch the SD Worx rider, however, and Van der Breggen, who only returned to pro racing after three years out of the peloton last season, took a convincing – albeit hard-won – victory.

"It started steep and it finished steep," Van der Breggen said afterwards. "All day I was fighting. I wasn't feeling so good at the beginning of the day, because I could still feel the crash from yesterday. Finishing like this… I'm incredibly happy."

Van der Breggen now takes an 18-second lead into the final day of the 2026 La Vuelta Femenina, and what a day it promises to be. Just shy of 133km in length, stage 7 of the race is a spectacular grand finale that culminates with an even tougher and longer climb up the steep flanks of the Asturian colossus to L’Angliru. Anything could happen.

La Vuelta Femenina, Stage 6 Gijón/Xixón > Les Praeres Nava, 106.5km

1. Anna van der Breggen (Ned), SD Worx-Protime, 106.5km in 3:01:45

2. Paula Blasi (Esp), UAE Team ADQ, +8s

3. Marion Bunel (Fra), Visma-Lease a Bike, +29s

4. Juliette Berthet (Fra), FDJ United-Suez, +36s

5. Monica Trinca Colonel (Ita), Liv AlUla Jayco, +38s

6. Évita Muzic (Fra), FDJ United-Suez, +47s

7. Yara Kastelijn (Ned), Fenix-Premier Tech, + 49s

8. Gaia Realini (Ita), Lidl-Trek, +57s

9. Katrine Aalerud (Nor), Uno-X Mobility, +1:09

10. Kasia Niewiadoma (Pol), Canyon/Sram, ast

General Classification after Stage 6

1. Anna van der Breggen (Ned), SD Worx-Protime, 18:06:48

2. Paula Blasi (Esp), UAE Team ADQ, +18s

3. Marion Bunel (Fra), Visma-Lease a Bike, +41s

4. Monica Trinca Colonel (Ita), Liv AlUla Jayco, +54s

5. Évita Muzic (Fra), FDJ United-Suez, +59s

6. Kasia Niewiadoma (Pol), Canyon/Sram, +1:25

7. Usoa Ostolaza (Esp), Laboral Kutxa-Fundación Euskadi, ast

8. Katrine Aalerud (Nor), Uno-X Mobility, ast

9. Lore De Schepper (Bel), AG Insurance-Soudal, +1:32

10. Lotte Claes (Bel), Fenix-Premier Tech, +1:44