25/03/2023

Volta a Catalunya: Kaden Groves wins stage 6 on teammate's bike after Evenepoel and Roglic dramatic battle

It is not every day that a pro rider wins a stage on a bike that isn't his. Kaden Groves has achieved that today, as he overcame a late mechanical to win a reduced sprint on stage 6 of the Volta a Catalunya.

A day where the main climb was cut from the route, but the profile was still difficult for the sprinters. Perhaps the actions in the peloton were to be a bigger threat however, as the opening hours of the day saw plenty of attacks but no breakaway being able to form amidst the high pace.

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Eventually in the final 80 kilometers six riders managed to get a gap. Fausto Masnada (Soudal - Quick-Step), Carlos Verona (Movistar Team), Geoffrey Bouchard (AG2R Citroën Team), Simone Velasco (Astana Qazaqstan Team), Jonas Gregaard (Uno-X Pro Cycling Team) and Oscar Onley (Team DSM). The gap never grew above a minute however as the peloton was aware of the dangers present.

The group was caught at the base of the final ascent however. Israel - Premier Tech and Bahrain - Victorious tried to keep a high and consistent pace, with Marc Soler launching an attack that had him cross the summit 20 seconds above the peloton. Right before the summit Remco Evenepoel attacked, but Primoz Roglic was alive to the occasion.

The duo set off on a furiously fast descent, with Evenepoel catching up and dropping Soler, but with Roglic keeping up with him. The race leader did not want to work, much to the dislike of Evenepoel, and the duo was eventually caught with 9 kilometers to go. In the intermediate sprint right after however Evenepoel took the 3 seconds, closing the gap to Roglic by 2 seconds in the day (with an early intermediate sprint the reason for the other second.

Several riders tried attacking right after including Mikel Landa, but a sprint looked inevitable with the flat finish. Main favourite Kaden Groves had a mechanical with 4 kilometers to go but quickly switched bikes with a teammate as Jumbo-Visma stayed in front. A late attack from a Groupama - FDJ rider threatened, but it was a sprint for the win.

Groves had the top speed however and rode into his second win of the week. It was a hard-earned triumph, as he once again beat Bryan Coquard, whilst Ide Schelling sprinted to third. Evenepoel and Roglic sprinted to fifth and ninth respectively but missed out on bonifications on the line.