Results La Vuelta Femenina 2026 Stage 6 - Anna van der Breggen storms into red jersey on brutal Les Praeres as GC battle finally explodes

The general classification battle at La Vuelta Femenina 2026 finally erupted in spectacular fashion on the savage slopes of Les Praeres, where Anna van der Breggen powered to a dominant summit victory to seize control of the race and end Lotte Kopecky’s spell in the red jersey.

After an unusually calm opening phase shaped by cautious riding and a long-range breakaway, the Vuelta exploded once the favourites hit the brutally steep final climb in horrific rain and hail conditions in Asturias. Van der Breggen ultimately proved the strongest rider on the mountain, breaking Paula Blasi on the steepest ramps before riding clear solo to claim both the stage victory and the overall race lead for SD Worx - Protime.

For much of the afternoon, the race unfolded at an unexpectedly controlled pace as the peloton appeared almost entirely focused on conserving energy for Les Praeres. Gaia Masetti, Sterre Vervloet, Marine Allione and Elisa Valtulini were allowed a sizeable advantage after attacking early, with the escape at one point gaining almost five minutes as the favourites’ teams refused to fully commit behind.

That approach created a strange tension throughout the stage. The breakaway remained alive deep into the finale, while the bunch largely avoided major accelerations despite the looming summit finish. The race only truly began to fracture inside the final 20 kilometres.

As the rain intensified and the pace finally rose sharply behind, the breakaway rapidly disintegrated. Allione and Valtulini were first caught before Masetti and Vervloet briefly tried to resist alone on the soaked roads approaching the climb. Their resistance eventually ended just before Les Praeres, where the stage instantly transformed from controlled waiting game into pure survival racing.

The feared climb immediately exposed the divide between the opening week’s sprint contenders and the riders built for the mountains. Kopecky had already acknowledged before the stage that Les Praeres would likely mark the end of her time in red, and the Belgian’s race quickly shifted from defending the overall lead to limiting losses and protecting her growing advantage in the points classification.

The SD Worx rider briefly moved to the front herself before the climb, helping control the final chase phase before swinging aside as the team fully committed to Van der Breggen’s GC ambitions.

Franziska Koch also faded from overall contention on the steep gradients as the race finally moved decisively away from the sprint-heavy opening phase that had shaped the first half of the Vuelta.

Once the favourites hit the brutal opening slopes of Les Praeres, the selection came almost instantly. Van der Breggen, Paula Blasi, Katarzyna Niewiadoma-Phinney, Cedrine Kerbaol and Evita Muzic initially emerged as the strongest riders near the front, while Pauline Ferrand-Prevot was unable to follow despite Visma - Lease a Bike’s earlier work on the approach. Marion Bunel later bridged back into contention as the climb became increasingly selective on gradients exceeding 20%.

The decisive move finally came when Van der Breggen accelerated hard on one of the steepest sections of the climb. Blasi initially clung to the Dutchwoman’s wheel, but the repeated changes in rhythm gradually opened the first meaningful gaps. From there, Van der Breggen slowly but relentlessly increased her advantage.

Blasi briefly regained ground on one of the flatter sections higher on the climb, but once the road ramped back up towards the savage 27% gradients near the summit, the Spanish rider finally cracked.

Van der Breggen continued powering clear alone through the hail and rain to seal an emphatic stage victory, while Blasi held on for second at eight seconds and Bunel completed the podium at 29 seconds.

The summit finish has completely reshaped the Vuelta before the race’s final mountain stage on the Angliru. What had been a tightly packed classification dominated by sprinters and punchy riders during the opening week has now transformed into a true climbers’ hierarchy, with Van der Breggen firmly establishing herself as the rider to beat heading into the final showdown.

After spending the opening days balancing sprint ambitions, jersey defence and team tactics around Kopecky, SD Worx now leave Les Praeres fully in control of the race with their GC leader exactly where they wanted her before the final mountain battle.