Quotes from the start of Vuelta a Espana 2024 stage 6 - Wout van Aert and Lennert van Eetvelt talk stage win and Roglic

Stage 6 of the Vuelta a España is a very interesting day where the GC is at play in the 3600 climbing meters over Andalucia. Wout van Aert and Lennert van Eetvelt are two of the big favourites for the day and they have given their opinion on the day before the start inside a Carrefour supermarket.

Wout van Aert (Het Laatste NIeuws/VTM): “I don’t have many plans. It’s a tough ride and very difficult to keep control. I don’t expect much from today. That’s another question (whether he can extend the lead in the points classification to Kaden Groves, ed.). He’s the rider I’ll always keep an eye on. Even if I think it’s not a chance for me. Then we’ll always have to wait and see what Kaden tries. We always have to wait and see, but it’s still a tough finish.”

Lennert van Eetvelt (VTM): “It’s hard to say. There are a lot of elevation gains, but not many steep climbs. It’s hard to estimate, but I think there’s a good chance that an early breakaway won’t happen. We also have good riders for the breakaway. If Victor [Campenaerts] and Andreas [Kron] get into the early breakaway, they might win. It’s different for me. It would be great to be able to sprint against Roglic again. This finish suits me too.”

Whilst the Visma rider would likely have to wait for a sprint in order to go for the stage win (as has happened in Castelo Branco) in such a hard day to control, the difficulties could help van Eetvelt who is a quality sprinter and is obviously in terrific form. At Pico Villuercas, the Lotto Dstny rider was the biggest match to Primoz Roglic, and only lost the stage in the final meters after a premature celebration. “We have to be careful that we don’t end up with a scenario like last year: that a classification rider gets into the early breakaway and takes time. But I'm looking forward to the stage," he concluded.