"Seventy riders will try, maybe even a hundred" - Joxean Matxín expects breakaway chaos and GC differences on stage 6 of Vuelta a Espana

Juan Ayuso and João Almeida have remained safe in the peloton and have climbed to 8th and 10th in the GC over the past few days at the Vuelta a Espana. Team manager Joxean Matxín believes many riders may climb into the front from a breakaway today and that many will try.

"It's like throwing a ball in the air, and then everyone jumps up to get it. The first sixty, seventy kilometers can pass in a flash. It will then be a real war, a total war, for the breakaway of the day. Seventy riders will try, maybe even a hundred," Joxean Matxín argued in an interview with Cyclingnews. "In a sense that is bad for the teams with a classification rider, but on the other hand it is also good. There will then be a natural control. As a rider you don't get any rest and you don't actually have to do anything. However, there is also another possibility: that there are suddenly four or five dangerous riders in the breakaway.”

The possibility is very much alive, taking into consideration that Remco Evenepoel was vocal about not having a problem with someone from a breakaway taking over the race lead after today. It makes sense for Soudal - Quick-Step taking into consideration the strength and depth of both Jumbo-Visma and UAE Team Emirates, the Belgian team would wish for the responsibility to fall on a different team, whilst the responsibilities of chasing would also fall to another one.

Remco Evenepoel doesn't have the same support and so they have to play their cards carefully. Matxín continues: “Ultimately we can only ride our own race. We cannot impose a certain price strategy on Soudal Quick-Step, or predict what they will do today. It is an important stage anyway and the leading group could decide who is in the lead after today. The final climb to Javalambre is a demanding climb, but there are still a few tough stages to come. This is just the beginning.”

After one summit finish, where Evenepoel was superior and Jonas Vingegaard was alive and well to the reaction, the veteran figure of UAE believes that they are the main favourites for the overall win - alongside Primoz Roglic.

“Remco and the two men from Jumbo-Visma are the big favorites for the overall victory, but I think Ayuso should be able to compete with them. Almeida, on the other hand, is a very consistent rider, who gets better and better during a Grand Tour. You also have to keep a close eye on him," he concludes.