Pogacar Recovers From Descent Scare to Win Vuelta Stage Six

Tadej Pogacar won stage six of the Vuelta a España on Thursday after recovering from a late off-road scare and beating Enric Mas in a two-rider sprint in Castellón de la Plana. Agence France-Presse reported that the result gave the Slovenian his third stage victory of this year's race and extended his lead in the general classification.

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A 15-rider breakaway formed after a prolonged fight to escape and held an advantage of about two and a half minutes with 40 kilometres remaining. The group began to split on the final climb of Puerto El Bartolo, which continued onto a gravel road and provided the setting for Pogacar's decisive acceleration.

Pogacar attacked on the climb and passed riders from the break, but Mas stayed close and moved ahead of him before the summit. The race changed again on the descent when Pogacar misjudged a corner and rode into a grassy area beside the road. He recovered quickly, rejoined Mas and avoided losing contact at the front.

The pair then cooperated to preserve their advantage over the chasing group. Pogacar led the approach to the finish and held off Mas in the sprint. Ramses Debruyne took third place from a group that also contained Primoz Roglic, Richard Carapaz and Felix Gall, with the chasers finishing 46 seconds behind the leading pair.

According to AFP's report, Pogacar now leads Mas by three minutes and 34 seconds overall. Roglic is third in the general classification, four minutes and 21 seconds behind his fellow Slovenian. Oscar Onley lost more than a minute and a half to his principal overall rivals during the stage.

British rider Josh Tarling abandoned the race with about 120 kilometres remaining. His Netcompany Ineos team did not provide a reason for the withdrawal and said it was proud of his participation. Tarling had finished third in the opening individual time trial behind Pogacar and Ethan Hayter. The race continues Friday with a 149.8-kilometre stage from Vall D'Alba to a summit finish at Aramón Valdelinares.